THE  RIVER 
FUGITIVES 


EDWARD  S.I-LLiS 


LI 


BRAR 


UNiVE*   (TY  OF 


p  SMITH 

OF  BOOK; 


THE  RIVER  FUGITIVES 


EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

OF  "  DEHRFOOT  "  SERIES,  "  LOG  CABIN 
"  BOY  PIONBBR  "  SERIES,  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO., 

PHILADELPHIA, 

•OTCAGO,  TORONTO. 


COPYRIGHTED  1893 
THE  PRICE-McGILL  CO, 


LOAN  STACK 


a7 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  FACE. 

I—The  Wyoming  Massacre,         •      •       »      •  7 

II— By  the  River,          .......  14 

III— The  Encounter, 21 

IV— In  the  Susquehanna,      ......  28 

V— A  Dreadful  Deed, 38 

VI— Gloomy  Forebodings,   ......  45 

VII— The  Forest  Rose,        ......  55 

VIII — Dangerous  Admiration,       .....  62 

IX— A  Quarrel, 70 

X— Rather  too  Kind, 79 

XI— The  Plan, 85 

XII-A  Valuable  Ally, 92 

XIII— The  Flight, 102 

XIV— Lena-Wingo  Steps  to  the  Front,     ...  109 

XV— In  the  Wilderness, 116 

XVI— Queen  Esther, 123 

XVII— A  Struggle  for  Life, 130 

XVIII-A  Labyrinth  of  Peril, 137 

XIX— An  Enemy  and  yet  a  Friend,    ....  144 

XX— The  Other  Duty, 151 

XXI— A  Strange  Escape, 158 

XXII— Eight  against  One,       ......  167 

XXIII— An  Unexpected  Ally, 174 

XXIV— Unexpected  Peril, 182 

XXV— The  Spider's  Web, 189 

XXVI— All  Abroad, 196 

XXVII-Behind  the  Trees, 203 

XXVIII— The  Depth  of  Sorrow, 210 

XXIX— Groping  in  the  Forest, 219 

XXX— A  Discovery, 226 

XXXI— A  Test  of  the  Nerves, 234 

XXXII— The  Occupant  of  the  Canoe,       ....  242 

XXXIII— The  Consultation, -  249 


THE  RIVER  FUGITIVES. 


CHAPTER  L 

THE   WYOMING    MASSACRE. 

"LOOK  out,  Ned,  the  Indians  are  as  thick  and 
plenty  as  hornets  when  yott  stir  up  a  dozen  nests 
of  them ;  you're  running  altogether  too  fast,  and 
you'll  be  in  a  trap  before  you  know  it." 

" What's  the  use  of  talking  that  way,  Jo?" 
demanded  his  companion,  in  an  impatient  voice ; 
"if  we  hadn't  done  the  hardest  kind  of  running, 
we  would  have  lost  our  scalps  long  ago.  I  can 
tell  you  that  I  won't  feel  safe  till  we've  put  a  good 
fifty  miles  behind  us,  and  we  sec  Stroudsburg 
ahead/' 

"That's  just  what  we  aren't  going  to  see  for  a 
good  long  -while.  There's  many  a  long  mile  of 
woods  between  Wyoming  and  Stroudsburg,  and 
the  Tories  and  Indians  know  that  the  poor  set- 
tlers are  doing  their  best  to  get  there  and  to 


8  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

Wilkesbarre,  and  so  they'll  watch  that  route  more 
than  any  other." 

At  the  end  of  these  hurried  words,  Ned  Clinton 
and  Jo  Minturn  came  to  a  halt,  and  the  former 
asked,  in  a  frightened  and  somewhat  petulant 
tone: 

"Well,  Jo,  what  do  you  think  is  the  best  thing 
for  us  to  do  ?  " 

"We  can't  do  anything  just  yet.  We  are  both 
out  of  wind,  and  can't  run  faster  than  a  man  can 
walk ;  and  so  I  say  we  may  as  well  stop  and  take 
breath,  and  look  over  the  ground  a  little  before 
we  try  to  get  out  of  the  neighborhood.  Night 
will  soon  set  in,  and,  if  we  are  careful,  we  have  a 
chance  of  dodging  the  Tories  and  Indians." 

"A  chance  of  dodging  the  Tories  and  Indians?" 
repeated  the  other  boy.  "Why,  they  are  all 
around,  and  I  don't  see  much  show  for  us." 

These  were  bitter  words,  but  there  was  good 
cause  for  their  utterance.  The  lad  had  not  exag- 
gerated the  terrors  of  that  day,  in  July,  1778, 
when  it  seemed  as  if  a  legion  of  fiends  had  been 
loosed,  and  given  full  power  to  work  their  will  all 
through  the  lovely  valley  of  Wyoming. 

In  order  to  understand  the  incidents  we  have 
taken  upon  ourselves  to  relate,  we  give  as  briefly 


THE    RIYER   FUGITIVES.  9 

as  possible  the  leading  facts  of  one  of  the  most 
dreadful  disasters  that  marred  the  struggles  of  our 
fathers  for  independence :  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
month  of  June,  1778,  Colonel  John  Butler,  of  the 
British  army,  with  about  four  hundred  Provincials, 
made  up  of  Tories,  together  with  six  or  seven 
hundred  Indians,  entered  the  head  of  the  Wyo- 
ming valley,  and  took  possession  of  Fort  Winter- 
moot  without  opposition,  they  having  massacred 
a  number  of  settlers  on  the  way.  Colonel  Zebulon 
Butler,  a  cousin  of  the  British  leader,  was  on  a 
visit  to  the  valley  at  the  time,  and  assumed  com- 
mand of  all  the  available  forces  that  could  be 
raised  for  the  defense.  His  entire  force  consisted 
of  two  hundred  and  thirty  enrolled  men,  and 
seventy  old  people,  boys,  civil  magistrate  and 
others,  who,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
be  classed  as  non-combatants.  These  were  all 
mustered  at  "Forty  Fort" — so  called  from  having 
been  erected  by  forty  Connecticut  settlers— where 
the  families  on  the  western  side  of  the  river  had 
taken  refuge. 

"Indian  Butler,"  as  he  was  generally  known, 
summoned  the  defenders  to  surrender  the  fort  and 
the  valley.  In  answer  to  this  peremp  tory  demand, 
a  council  of  war  was  held  on  the  third  of  July,  at 


10  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

which  Colonels  Butler  and  Denison  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Dorrance  favored  a  dallying  policy, 
in  the  hope  that  reinforcements  would  arrive  and 
enable  them  to  make  the  defense  successful  beyond 
a  doubt.  The  larger  part  of  the  defenders  advo- 
cated marching  out  at  once  and  giving  their 
enemies  battle,  confident  of  their  power  to  rout 
them,  "horse,  foot  and  dragoons."  Butler,  a 
brave  and  skillful  officer,  listened  to  the  clamor 
quietly,  until  he  seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  this  ardor  and  enthusiasm  only  needed 
directing  to  carry  everything  before  it. 

"The  attack  shall  be  made  as  you  wish!  "he 
exclaimed,  as  he  leaped  into  the  saddle;  "and  I 
shall  lead  you  as  far  as  any  dare  follow;  but 
remember  you  go  into  great  danger,  where  it  is 
win  all  or  lose  all." 

It  was  near  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  that  the 
column,  numbering  about  three  hundred  men,  old 
men  and  boys,  marched  out  of  the  fort,  with 
drums  beating  and  colors  flying.  They  passed  up 
the  plain,  with  the  Susquehanna  on  their  right 
and  a  marsh  on  their  left,  until  they  reached  Fort 
Wintermoot,  which  was  in  flames.  It  had  been 
fk<ed  by  the  enemy  in  order  to  give  the  impression 
that  they  were  retiring  from  the  valley.  The 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVE*.  11 

ground  for  the  battle  was  selected  by  Colonel 
Zebulon  Butler's  aids,  and  when  the  position  was 
taken  the  right  rested  on  a  steep  bank,  the  left 
extending  across  the  gravel  flat  to  a  morass,  thick 
with  timber  and  brush,  that  separated  the  bottom- 
land from  the  mountain,  while  yellow  and  pitch 
pine-trees  and  oak  shrubs  were  scattered  all  over 
the  plain. 

The  battle  began  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Colonel  Butler  had  impressed  his  men  with 
the  importance  of  withstanding  the  first  shock, 
and  ordered  them  to  fire,  and  at  each  discharge  to 
advance  a  step.  As  the  fight  opened  and  pro- 
gressed, the  British  line  gave  way,  in  spite  of  all 
the  officers  could  do  to  prevent  it.  The  Indians 
were  engaged  from  the  first,  they  being  on  the 
British  right.  They  were  divided  into  six  bands, 
and  as  they  fired,  they  kept  up  a  series  of  whoops 
and  yells  of  the  most  frightful  character. 

It  is  a  sad  reflection  that  a  fight  which  opened  so 
favorably  for  the  little  band  of  patriots  should 
soon  turn  overwhelmingly  against  them,  but  such 
was  the  fact.  At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  the  greatly 
superior  power  of  the  enemy  began  to  develop 
itself,  the  Indians  continuing  to  pour  out  of  the 
swamp,  in  which  they  had  concealed  the  greater 


12  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

part  of  their  number,  and  the  left  was  outflanked 
and  thrown  into  confusion.  An  order  to  execute 
a  certain  military  maneuver  was  mistaken  by 
many  for  a  command  to  fall  back,  and  the  con- 
flict of  movements  threw  the  whole  force  into 
inextricable  confusion.  Seeing  the  imminent  peril 
that  threatened,  Colonel  Butler  dashed  between 
the  opposing  fires,  regardless  of  his  own  life,  and 
shouted  to  his  men  that  they  had  only  to  stand 
firm  and  victory  was  theirs. 

At  this  critical  moment  a  horde  of  redskins 
swooped  down  upon  the  disorganized  patriots, 
and  the  stampede  was  complete.  Every  captain 
that  led  a  company  into  action  was  slain.  More 
than  two  hundred  of  the  Americans  were  massa- 
cred, the  loss  of  the  British  and  Indians  being  one- 
third  as  great.  Colonels  Butler  and  Denison,  being 
mounted,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort,  conveying 
the  tidings  of  what  had  taken  place  to  the  terrified 
fugitives  huddled  together  there. 

Butler,  on  account  of  more  than  one  daring 
exploit  against  the  British  during  the  preceding 
years  of  the  Revolution,  was  especially  hated  by 
them,  and  he  knew  only  too  well  what  his  fate 
would  be  if  he  fell  into  their  hands.  Nevertheless, 
he  remained  in  the  fort  until  the  terms  werr 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  13 

arranged  that  should  be  offered  the  enemy  on  the 
morrow.  He  then  crossed  over  to  Wilkesbarre, 
and,  throwing  a  feather-bed  on  his  horse,  seated 
his  wife  behind,  and  left  the  valley  the  next  day. 
Those  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  Wilkesbarre 
fort  began  a  precipitate  flight  the  next  morning, 
and  as  they  were  unprovided  with  enough  provis- 
ions, many  women  and  children  perished  with 
fatigue  and  hunger  in  a  dense  pine  forest,  which  is 
known  to  this  day  as  "The  Shades  of  Death."  The 
terms  proposed  to  the  British  Colonel  Butler  were 
accepted  and  signed  by  him,  and  the  surrender  of 
Forty  Fort  was  made  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1778. 
On  the  succeeding  day  the  Indians  began  plun- 
dering, and  when  Colonel  Denison  remonstrated 
with  the  British  leader,  the  latter  declared  that  the 
Indians — many  of  whom  were  drunk  and  commit- 
ting all  sorts  of  excesses— were  beyond  his  con- 
trol. 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  the  leading  features 
of  the  ever-memorable  Wyoming  massacre,  we  take 
up  again  the  thread  of  our  story. 


CHAPTER  H. 

BY  THE  RIVER. 

AMONG  the  band  of  old  men  and  children  that 
issued  from  " Forty  Fort,"  on  the  day  of  the  fight 
at  Wyoming  were  Ned  Clinton  and  Jo  Minium , 
who  were  side  by  side  at  the  opening  of  the  battle, 
both  being  in  that  portion  of  the  command 
attacked  with  such  fury  by  the  Indians,  and  that 
finally  became  panic-stricken  and  turned  into  a 
complete  rout,  leading  the  headlong  fight  that  was 
the  real  beginning  of  the  massacre.  Young  Clin- 
ton was  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  went 
into  the  fight,  leaving  an  aged  mother  at  the  fort, 
while  his  only  other  relative,  an  uncle,  was  shot 
down  and  tomahawked  before  his  eyes.  Jo  Min- 
turn  was  a  year  younger  than  his  companion,  and 
alone  in  the  struggle,  so  far  as  any  of  his  relatives 
were  concerned;  but  he  left  a  decrepit  father,  a 
mother,  and  a  sister,  Rosa,  a  year  younger  than 
himself,  so  that  it  will  be  understood  the  interests 
of  both  were  bound  up  in  the  little  defense  itself. 

Both  the  young  men,  rather  curiously,  were  of 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  16 

the  opinion  that  all  the  fugitives  in  the  fort  were 
safe.  Perhaps  it  was  not  so  curious,  either,  for  no 
one  could  believe  that,  in  case  they  were  compelled 
to  surrender  to  Colonel  Butler,  he  would  fail  to 
see  that  they  received  the  fullest  and  most  com- 
plete protection.  Hence  the  two  friends  were 
engaged  m  trying  to  save  their  own  scalps.  They 
had  made  several  essays  to  reach  the  fort,  but  the 
majority  of  the  fugitives  had  been  massacred, 
wkile  striving  to  do  the  same  thing;  so  they  were 
obliged  to  turn  back  again,  and  were  in  the  woods, 
near  the  river,  which  flowed  broad  and  deep  before 
them. 

"It  seems  to  me,"  said  Ned,  after  they  had  paused 
long  enough  to  regain  their  breath,  "that  the 
wisest  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  swim  across.  What 
do  you  say?" 

"I  don't  know  that  it  makes  much  difference 
whether  we  do  or  not,  for  the  redskins  are  pretty 
well  scattered  on  both  sides  by  this  time,  and  we're 
as  likely  to  run  against  them  in  one  place  as 
another.  I've  an  idea  that  we  could  find  a  good 
hiding-place  on  Monacacy  island,  out  there  in  the 
river — that  is,  for  a  little  while." 

44 But,  then,  we  aren't  in  want  of  an  extra  hid- 
ing-place just  now ;  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  keep 


16  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

poking  and  picking  our  way  along  till  we  are  so 
far  away  from  this  place  that  we  shall  be  well 
clear  of  the  Tories  and  Indians.  I  had  no  idea  of 
staying  longer  by  the  way  than  we  have  to." 

"Nor  I,  either;  the  fact  is,  we  can't  pick  out  any 
spot  within  a  dozen  miles  of  the  fort  where  we 
aren't  liable  to  run  against  a  lot  of  enemies.  Let's 
keep  on  along  the  river,  and  if  we  travel  all  night 
we  will  be  so  far  off  by  morning  that  we  can  feel 
pretty  safe.  The  folks  at  the  fort  will  be  dread- 
fully worried  over  us,  won't  thej  ?  " 

"Yes,  but  we  can't  help  that;  they  will  be  sure 
we  are  both  killed,  till  they  see  us  with  their  own 
eyes." 

Having  decided  what  they  would  do,  and  hav- 
ing rested  themselves  so  far  as  to  recover  their 
wind,  there  was  no  further  excuse  for  their  remain- 
ing in  the  neighborhood.  The  hot  summer  day 
had  not  yet  ended,  and  so  they  were  forced  to  be 
extremely  careful  in  moving  through  the  woods, 
when  they  were  so  liable  to  be  seen  by  some  of  the 
black  eyes  that  were  peering  everywhere  in  search 
of  victims.  Here  and  there  the  crack  of  a  rifle  was 
heard,  and  not  a  minute  passed  in  which  they  did 
not  catch  the  curdling  sound  of  the  Indian  yell, 
showing  how  relentlessly  the  savages  were  prose- 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  17 

ctiting  their  work.  The  smoke  from  the  ruins  of 
Fort  Winter-moot  lay  like  a  great  smirch  against 
the  sky,  and,  here  and  there,  where  a  glimpse 
could  be  caught  of  the  plain,  the  massacre  was 
going  on. 

The  mind  can  become  accustomed  almost  to  any- 
thing, and  the  two  young  men,  who,  a  few  hours 
before,  were  so  shocked  at  seeing  an  Indian  bury 
his  tomahawk  into  the  brain  of  a  helpless  and  sup- 
plicating old  man,  had  already  witnessed  so  many 
equally  horrible  crimes,  that  they  took  them 
almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  busied  them- 
selves in  doing  their  utmost  to  escape.  The  two 
were  within  a  few  yards  of  the  river  bank,  when 
Ned  Clinton,  who  was  a  single  step  in  advance  of 
his  friend,  abruptly  paused,  and  raising  his  hand 
in  a  warning  way,  uttered  the  soft  exclamation: 

'"Sh!" 

Jo  was  on  the  lookout  for  something  of  the 
kind,  and  he  checked  himself  on  the  instant,  the 
two  standing  as  motionless  as  a  couple  of  stone 
statues.  They  scarcely  breathed,  even,  while  all 
their  faculties  were  centered  in  the  single  one  of 
listening.  A  minute  followed  without  the  silence 
In  their  immediate  vicinity  being  broken,  when 


18  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

Jk>  Minturn  ventured  to  lean  a  little  forward  and 
whisper  in  the  ear  of  his  friend : 

" What  was  it,  Ned?" 

"Can't  say,"  he  answered,  in  the  same  cautious 
voice;  "but  I  am  sure  I  heard  something  moving 
through  the  bushes." 

"  Likely  it  is  somebody  trying  to  hide,  for  if  it 
was  an  Indian,  there  would  be  no  need  of  his  being 
so  sly  about  it." 

"All  right;  it  was  just  there  in  front  of  where 
we  are  standing,"  added  Ned,  pointing  to  a  dense 
mass  of  undergrowth  directly  before  them.  "You 
turn  to  the  left  and  I'll  go  to  the  right,  and  we'll 
move  toward  each  other  as  soon  as  we  get  as  near 
the  water  as  we  can.  By  that  means  we'll  stand 
a  chance  of  finding  out  what  it  is." 

The  suggestion  was  acted  upon  at  once.  The 
youths,  knowing  that  a  blunder  was  almost  cer- 
tain to  result  in  their  becoming  victims  to  the 
tomahawk,  were  as  careful  and  as  cautious  in  their 
movements  as  a  couple  of  veteran  scouts.  Ned 
Clinton,  perhaps  by  virtue  of  his  prior  discovery, 
seemed  to  think  it  was  his  place  to  take  the  lead. 
As  he  knew  the  precise  point  from  which  the  sus- 
picious sound  came,  he  moved  more  directly 
toward  it  than  did  his  companion. 


THB    RIYER    FUGITIYES.  >0 

Enough  light  still  remained  for  him  to  see  objects 
a  few  rods  distant  with  great  distinctness.  He 
had  not  advanced  more  than  five  steps  when  be 
became  convinced  that  his  first  supposition  was 
right,  for  there  was  certainly  some  one  crouching 
in  the  undergrowth  immediately  in  front,  and  Ned 
uttered  their  familiar  signal — a  soft  whistle — a«  a 
warning  to  his  friend,  a  rod  or  two  distant,  that 
he  had  made  an  important  discovery. 

The  two  had  gone  into  battle  with  a  rifle  a  peace, 
and  they  had  brought  the  weapons  away  with 
them ;  but  they  had  nothing  more.  All  raw  troops 
are  apt  to  use  too  much  powder  in  battle,  and  k 
so  happened  that  the  two  lads  had  not  a  dosen 
charges  left  between  them,  a  fact  that  made  them 
anxious,  since  they  were  more  cool  and  collected,  to 
be  as  economical  in  the  use  of  their  ammunition  as 
possible.  It  looked  to  Ned  as  if  he  might  then  fiixl 
it  necessary  to  spend  some  powder,  and  he  therefore 
raised  the  hammer  of  his  gun,  sank  down  m  a 
crouching  posture,  and  began  stealing  his  'way, 
inch  by  inch,  in  the  direction  of  the  motionless 
figure  that  could  be  dimly  seen  through  the  uncter- 
growth. 

"I  don't  know  whether  he  sees  me  or  not/' 
thought  Ned,  as  he  stealthily  shoved  has  rifle 


20  THB   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

through  the  grass  and  bushes  in  his  immediate 
front.  "But  I  don't  mean  that  he  shall  get  the 
best  of  me  if  there  is  any  way  to  hinder  it." 

There  was  a  strong  suspicion  in  the  mind  of  Ned 
that  the  figure  which  he  dimly  saw  hiding  was 
that  of  some  poor,  panic-stricken  fugitive,  too 
much  dazed  and  bewildered  by  the  horrors  of  the 
day  to  be  able  to  tell  a  friend  from  a  foe.  It  was 
this  suspicion,  amounting  to  almost  a  belief,  that 
induced  Ned  Clinton  to  forget  his  motto  of  Ike 
Wells,  the  old  hunter,  to  the  effect  that,  when  on 
the  scout,  every  stranger  must  be  set  down  as  an 
enemy  until  he  was  proved  a  friend. 

"Hello,  there?"  called  out  the  youth,  in  a  reas- 
suring though  cautious  voice.  "  We  are  Americans. 
Do  n't  be  afraid.  Who  are  you  ?  " 

There  was  some  sort  of  reply  made  to  this  which 
Ned  did  not  catch,  but  which  threw  him  completely 
off  his  guard. 

"I  didn't  get  what  you  said,"  he  added,  in  a  still 
more  incautious  voice;  "but  you  can  be  sure  we 
arc  friends,  so  come  out  and  show  yourself." 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE  ENCOUNTER. 

AT  this  critical  juncture  Jo  Minturn,  from  his 
lurking  place,  only  a  rod  or  so  away,  emitted  a 
low  whistle;  but  the  trouble  in  this  case  was,  that 
it  was  a  little  too  cautious.  The  friend  for  whom  it 
it  was  intended  heard  it  not,  although  his  intense 
curiosity  at  that  particular  moment,  no  doubt, 
was  one  reason  why  he  failed  to  notice  that  which 
would  have  excited  his  alarm  at  any  other  time. 
It  may  well  be  asked  how  it  was  that  the  one  who 
was  so  much  further  away  should  have  heard,  or, 
at  least,  have  given,  the  signal  of  alarm,  when  be 
whose  place  it  was  to  guard  against  that  very  form 
of  danger  failed  to  see  it.  The  answer  is,  that 
Jo  saw  and  heard  nothing  at  all ;  it  was  merely  a 
suspicion  with  him,  nothing  more. 

"Are  you  wounded?"  asked  Ned,  as  he  neared 
the  crouching  form  and  leaned  forward  in  the  hope 
of  identifying  him.  "If  there  is  anything  the  mat- 
ter with  you,  let  me  know,  and  Jo  and  I  will  do  all 

we  can  for  you.    This  is  hardly  the  place — " 

21 


SB  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

T*>  the  amazement  of  the  young  man,  the  pros- 
trirte  figure  at  this  instant  sprang  up  with  the  sud- 
denness of  lightning,  and  gave  out  that  curdling 
wboop  which  he  had  heard  so  often  while  the  bat- 
tle and  massacre  were  going  on.  The  action  was 
so  utterly  unexpected  that  Ned  was  paralyzed  for 
tbe  moment,  as  if  he  did  not  comprehend  what 
had  taken  place.  This  was  the  very  artifice  that 
the  Indian  had  been  planning  when  the  youth 
detected  him  moving  through  the  bushes.  It  suc- 
ceeded precisely  as  was  intended,  the  few  seconds 
of  bewilderment  and  surprise  affording  the  oppor- 
twnity  for  the  hurling  of  his  tomahawk,  as  it 
seemed  that  he  had  expended  all  his  ammunition 
before  he  reached  this  spot. 

Iti  the  gathering  gloom,  Ned  saw  the  swarthy 
arm  drawn  back,  and  he  caught  the  gleam  of  the 
weapon,  as  it  was  raised  aloft  to  strike,  or, 
rather,  to  hurl  with  unerring  aim,  straight 
at  his  brain.  The  sweep  of  the  arm  and  the 
glitter  of  the  tomahawk  served  to  arouse  Ned 
to  a  sense  of  his  peril,  and  he  made  a  desperate 
attempt  to  raise  his  rifle  and  shoot  the  savage 
before  he  could  drive  the  deadly  missile  into  his 
skull.  But  he  had  delayed  too  long  to  save  him* 
seli 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  26 

Still,  if  Ned  Clinton  had  lost  his  senses,  Jo  Min- 
turn  had  not.  The  latter,  from  the  first,  held  a 
suspicion  that  something  was  wrong,  and  so,  in  a 
measure  had  prepared  for  the  very  danger  that 
had  come  upon  his  friend.  At  the  moment  the 
Indian  sprang  to  his  feet  Jo  read  the  whole  plot, 
and  he  cocked  his  rifle,  muffling  the  sound  as  much 
as  possible,  for  he  wanted  to  make  the  surprise  of 
the  miscreant  as  complete  as  the  latter  had  made 
that  of  the  young  man,  who  stood  as  one  dumb 
before  him.  But  there  was  no  time  for  delay,  for 
when  the  Indian  got  upon  his  feet  and  went  to 
work,  he  was  like  a  panther  in  his  movements. 

Jo,  therefore,  did  not  tarry.  When  he  saw  the 
muscular  arm  raised  he  threw  up  his  rifle,  and  tak- 
ing quick  aim,  fired.  The  distance  was  so  short 
that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  miss,  and  simultane- 
ous with  the  sharp  report  of  the  gun  was  the  wild 
death-shriek  of  the  savage,  who  threw  his  arms  in 
the  air  and  fell  forward  on  his  face,  with  not  a 
spark  of  life  in  his  body. 

"By  George,  that  was  well  done,  Jo !  "  exclaimed 
his  grateful  companion,  "and  you  have  saved  my 
life.  I  stood  there  transfixed  for  a  moment,  just 
as  you  were  the  other  day  when  that  rattlesnake 
got  his  eyes  fixed  on  you." 


24  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

"That  will  do,  Ned,"  replied  his  friend,  in  some 
excitement.  "  We  have  n't  got  time  to  stop  to  talk 
now,  but  must  be  moving." 

"Why  such  a  desperate  hurry,  Jo  ?  It  is  already 
quite  dark,  and  there  are  no  other  Indians  in 
sight" 

"They'll  be  here  soon  enough,  you  may  depend 
on  that." 

"And  how  do  you  make  that  out?"  asked  his 
companion,  as  he  followed  him  down  closer  to  the 
river. 

"Didn't  you  hear  that  yell  he  let  out  just  as  he 
rose,  and  drew  back  to  let  you  have  his  toma- 
hawk? Well,  you  can  make  up  your  mind  that 
half  a  dozen  or  more  heard  that,  too,  and  they'll 
flock  to  this  spot  like  so  many  wolves  when  one  of 
their  number  signals  to  the  others  that  he  has 
found  a  choice  bit  of  prey." 

"You're  right,  Jo.  And  we  must  get  out  of  this 
place—" 

"'Sh!  not  so  loud,"  whispered  his  companion; 
"they're  coming  now." 

The  speaker  was  right.  Both  heard,  at  the 
instant,  a  soft,  low  sound,  like  the  chirp  of  a  bird, 
and  which  they  knew  was  a  call,  intended  to  be 
answered  by  the  Indian  that  had  just  fallen  by  the 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  25 

rifle  of  Jo  Minturn.  For  obvious  reasons,  the 
proper  response  could  not  be  made  to  this,  and  the 
only  wise  thing  for  the  young  men  to  do  was  to 
vacate  the  position  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

There  was  not  much  to  be  feared  from  the  report 
of  the  avenging  rifle,  as  reports  were  sounding  at 
intervals  from  all  parts  of  the  bloody  plain.  But, 
as  Jo  had  declared,  it  was  the  result  of  that  yell 
which  they  must  guard  against.  Beyond  all  ques- 
tion, one  or  more  redskins  were  stealing  upon 
them,  and  Ned  and  Jo,  as  they  reached  the  edge  of 
the  Susquehanna,  knelt  down  and  stepped  into 
the  water. 

"Shall  we  swim  across?  "  asked  the  latter,  in  a 
whisper. 

"We'll  have  to  go  out  into  the  river,  anyway, 
for  if  we  move  up  or  down,  we  are  sure  to  be 
headed  off,  but  it  is  best  to  halt  on  the  island.  I 
don't  believe  there  are  many  there,  and  there  are 
plenty  of  places  where  we  can  hide  till  it  becomes 
darker,  and  then  we'll  pull  out  and  strike  for  the 
shore  again." 

"All  right;  here  we  go." 

They  were  not  a  moment  too  soon,  for  as  they 
waded  out  a  little  farther  in  the  stream,  they 
heard  the  same  signal  that  had  attracted  their 


2(5  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

suspicion  at  first.  But  this  time  it  sounded  directly 
behind  them,  from  the  very  spot  that  they  had 
occupied  but  a  short  time  before.  The  Indians 
were  there,  and  it  seemed  almost  impossible  that 
the  two  fugitives  should  escape  observation. 

It  occurred  to  both  that  there  was  less  danger 
of  being  seen  if  they  separated,  and,  without  a 
word,  they  sank  down  until  only  enough  of  their 
heads  remained  above  to  permit  them  to  breathe. 
Then  they  began  moving  noiselessly  through  the 
water  in  the  direction  of  Monacacy  island,  the 
outlines  of  which  were  barely  visible.  Their  rifles 
very  nearly  caused  their  betrayal,  as  it  was  neces- 
sary that  they  should  be  shifted  over  their  shoul- 
ders, so  as  to  allow  them  the  unrestricted  use  of 
their  arms. 

Ordinarily,  this  was  a  very  slight  piece  of  work, 
executed  in  a  minute  or  so,  but  the  labor  was 
immeasurably  increased  when  they  were  in  the 
water,  where  they  were  not  only  anxious  to  do  it 
in  a  guarded  manner,  but  at  the  same  time  to  keep 
the  stocks  above  their  heads,  so  that  the  weapons 
would  be  ready  for  use  when  they  should  leave  the 
river  again.  Both  succeeded  better  than  they  had 
reason  to  expect,  and  diverging,  they  swam  toward 
the  island  which  had  become,  for  the  time  being,  a 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  27 

land  of  refuge  to  them.  Their  paths  were  so  far 
apart  that  they  almost  immediately  lost  sight  of 
each  other,  and  each  went  on  his  own  hook. 

Ned  Clinton  had  no  more  than  gotten  fairly 
under  way,  after  adjusting  his  gun,  when  he  heard 
the  Indian  signal  repeated  for  the  third  time,  and, 
with  a  shiver  of  dismay,  he  caught  a  sound  that 
he  was  sure  was  made  by  some  one  entering  the 
water. 

"As  sure  as  I  live  they  have  started  after  us,"  he 
muttered,  as  he  increased  his  speed,  not  forgetting 
to  work  his  way  with  the  stealth  that  he  had  used 
at  the  beginning. 

At  the  same  moment  he  glanced  over  his  shoul- 
der, toward  the  place  he  had  just  left.  It  may 
have  been  fancy,  and  it  may  have  been  fact,  but  he 
was  quite  sure  that  he  saw  several  dark  forms 
in  the  act  of  entering  the  water,  and,  of  course, 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  pursue  him  and  his 
friend. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  THE  SUSQUEHANNA. 

WHETHER  Ned  really  saw  the  Indians  or  not,  as 
they  entered  the  river  behind  him,  is  a  small  mat- 
ter. Within  the  succeeding  three  minutes  he  became 
certain  that  he  was  pursued  by  the  very  beings 
from  whom  he  and  his  friend  had  been  fleeing  for 
the  last  hour  or  more.  The  Indians  had  found  the 
dead  body  of  their  former  comrade,  and  under- 
stood what  it  meant.  Some  of  the  whites  had 
managed  to  escape,  in  spite  of  the  persistency  with 
which  the  invaders  had  kept  up  the  massacre,  and 
they  were  now  inspired  by  the  feeling  of  revenge, 
added  to  their  own  natural  cruelty  of  heart. 

Ned  would  have  felt  little  fear  of  a  single  Indian, 
had  he  been  permitted  to  meet  him  under  anything 
like  equal  conditions ;  but  he  was  confident  that 
several  were  after  him.  Even  if  there  was  only 
one,  it  would  have  been  a  piece  of  folly  for  him  to 
engage  in  a  personal  encounter,  so  long  as  there 
was  a  possibility  of  avoiding  it.  Ned  naturally 
concluded  that  the  redskins  would  think  that  he 

28 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  29 

was  making  for  the  island,  where  so  many  had 
already  taken  refuge,  and  in  the  hope  of  mislead- 
ing them,  he  turned  and  struck  out  for  a  point 
below  the  land  itself. 

Having  progressed  a  few  rods  in  this  manner,  he 
held  up,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  what  his  ene- 
mies were  doing.  The  young  man  was  a  splendid 
swimmer,  and  he  had  no  fear  that,  if  it  were  neces- 
sary, he  could  keep  himself  afloat  an  hour  or 
more.  It  was  quite  dark  by  this  time,  for  which 
he  was  thankful ;  for  had  the  Indians  been  able 
to  see  them  from  the  shore,  they  would  have  ended 
the  tragedy,  so  far  as  the  two  friends  were  con- 
cerned, by  sending  a  bullet  through  the  head  of 
each. 

Supporting  himself  with  only  his  nose  and  eyes 
in  the  air,  Ned  looked  anxiously  back  toward  the 
shore  he  had  left  but  a  few  minutes  before.  For  a 
brief  space  he  saw  nothing;  but,  as  all  swimmers 
know,  sound  is  carried  with  greater  distinctness 
under  than  above  the  water,  and  he  heard  the 
soft  rustling  noise  which  is  an  invariable  accom- 
paniment of  the  most  skillful  swimmer's  efforts 
when  making  his  way  ever  so  cautiously  through 
the  current. 


30  THE   RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

"They  are  coming,  that's  certain,"  muttered 
Ned,  still  holding  himself  motionless,  and  using 
his  sight  and  hearing  as  best  he  could.  "They 
vrill  pass  me  very  near,  but  they  can't  hear  me, 
I  am  sure,  and  I  hope  they  won't  see  me,  either. " 

The  thought  had  scarcely  taken  shape  in  the 
mind  of  the  fugitive,  when  he  caught  sight  of 
what  looked  like  a  cocoanut  moving  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  and  which  he  was  certain  was 
the  "cocoanut"  of  one  of  his  pursuers.  That 
was  more  than  enough,  and  he  quietly  dropped 
oat  of  sight  altogether,  and  swam  several  yards 
beneath  before  coming  to  the  surface. 

When  the  distended  blood-vessels  could  bear  no 
more,  he  pushed  his  nose  upward,  took  in  a  draught 
of  the  life-sustaining  air,  and  looked  about  him. 
The  first  glance  disclosed  the  head  about  as  near 
as  before,  and  he  was  wondering  how  that  could 
be,  when  he  reflected  that  it  was  not  the  one  from 
which  he  fled,  but  a  second  Indian,  following  a 
little  to  the  right  of  the  former. 

"So  there  are  two  of  you,"  he  said  to  himself, 
edging  away,  without  going  under  a  second  time. 
' '  Yes,  and  there  comes  a  third,  and  there  is  no  telling 
how  many  more." 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  81 

Poising  himself  like  an  eagle  over  the  mountain 
crag,  he  waited  and  watched,  ready  at  any 
moment  to  drop  under  again,  the  instant  it  should 
appear  necessary.  His  purpose  was  to  find  out 
the  precise  number  of  their  pursuers,  and  he  ran 
a  great  risk  in  order  to  do  so ;  but  after  waiting 
several  minutes  without  detecting  any  more,  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  had  seen  the  last. 

"Just  three, "  he  muttered,  as  he  cautiously 
resumed  his  swimming  in  the  same  course  fol- 
lowed by  them.  "That  wouldn't  make  a  very 
uneven  sort  of  a  fight,  if  we  could  meet  them  on  a 
fair  field ;  but  the  first  thing  they  would  do  when 
they  caught  sight  of  us  would  be  to  let  out  a  yell 
that  would  bring  half  a  hundred  down  on  us;  so 
I  guess  we'll  give  them  the  go-by,  if  they  will  let 
us." 

He  paused,  for  at  that  moment  his  trained  ear 
caught  a  repetition  of  the  sound  that  had  alarmed 
him,  and  told  him  that  some  one  was  in  the  water 
near  him.  Ned  accepted  this  as  a  warning  that  he 
was  treading  too  close,  so  to  speak,  on  the  heels 
of  his  red  enemies,  and  he  slackened  his  efforts, 
which  were  so  slight  in  the  first  place.  Still  the 
rustling  continued,  and  he  looked  anxiously  ahead 
in  the  gloom,  and  was  unable  to  distinguish  any- 


33  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

thing  of  the  swimmer  who,  as  was  very  evident, 
must  be  the  cause  of  this  same  slight  noise. 

"That's  queer,  "he  thought.  "According  to  that 
sound,  he  is  pretty  close  by,  and  yet  I'll  be  shot  if 
I  can  see  anything  of  his  head  on  the  water." 

Long  and  bitter  experience  teaches  the  brave 
man  to  become  the  skillful,  patient  and  successful 
scout,  and  Clinton  was  in  the  act  of  receiving  a 
lesson  that  would  never  be  forgotten.  Strange, 
that  in  peering  round  in  the  gloom  for  the  author 
of  the  slight  but  excessively  annoying  sound, 
proving  beyond  all  doubt  that  one  of  his  dreaded 
enemies  was  somewhere  close  at  hand,  it  did  not 
occur  to  him  that  it  might  proceed  from  the  most 
dangerous  point  of  all — behind  him.  Yet  such  was 
the  fact.  Ned's  faculties  were  strung  to  that 
pitch  that  he  noticed  the  peculiar  increase  in  the 
rustling  that  showed  that  it  was  approaching. 

"I  wonder  whether  he  is  swimming  under  the 
water?"  he  asked  himself  with  a  shudder,  as  the 
redskin  still  failed  to  show  up.  "If  he  comes  at 
me  that  way,  it  will  be  hard  work." 

With  the  suddenness  of  the  lightning's  flash  the 
whole  truth  burst  upon.  The  Indian  was 
approaching  from  behind.  Turning  his  head,  Ned 
saw  him  so  near  that  he  was  in  the  very  act  of 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  36 

raising  his  hand  to  bury  his  bloody  knife  into  his 
shoulder.  The  white  youth  was  without  any 
knife,  and  his  gun  was  of  no  use  to  him.  That 
which  the  endangered  fugitive  did  was  the  result 
of  instinct  more  than  reason. 

He  sank  beneath  the  surface,  doing  it  so  quickly 
and  cleverly  that  the  blow  of  the  Indian  was  frus- 
trated, and  the  savage  knew  not  where  to  feel  for 
him.  Under  such  circumstances,  he  did  what  was 
the  most  natural.  He  waited  for  him  to  rise, 
holding  the  weapon  aloft,  ready  to  complete  his 
work  at  the  very  moment  the  head  came  within 
reach.  The  savage  must  have  felt  sure  of  his 
victim,  for  he  did  not  utter  that  yell  which  comes 
so  natural  to  all  of  his  kind  when  they  catch 
sight  of  a  foe,  and  think  it  possible  they  may  need 
a  little  assistance  in  disposing  of  him. 

But  when  Ned  Clinton  went  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  stream  he  felt  that  his  life  depended  upon 
his  doing  something  more  than  merely  diving. 
The  redskin  was  seeking  his  death,  and  the  time 
had  come  for  him  to  prove  what  he  was  made  of. 
Which  is  precisely  what  he  did  do;  for,  without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  he  struck  out  the  instant  he 
was  under,  not  away  from  but  toward  his  foe. 


34  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

The  two  were  so  close  that  only  a  stroke  or  two 
waa  required  to  bring  them  in  collision.  The 
Delaware -was  looking  keenly  around  in  the  gloom 
for  his  victim,  when  his  legs  were  suddenly  seized 
near  the  knees,  and  he  was  jerked  under.  Being 
an  Indian  he  was  a  good  swimmer ;  but  the  most 
skillful  of  Paul  Boytons  may  be  taken  off  his 
guard.  The  redskin,  as  he  dipped  below,  gave  a 
gasping  inspiration  that  was  the  worst  thing  he 
eould  do,  for  it  caused  him  to  "ship"  a  large 
amount  of  water,  and,  scarcely  knowing  what  it 
meant  for  the  first  second,  he  made  such  a  frantic 
clawing  of  the  arms  that  the  knife  dropped  there- 
from. He  was  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  his 
assailant  so  far  as  weapons  were  concerned,  while 
he  was  temporarily  at  a  disadvantage,  owing  to 
the  flurry  in  which  he  was  thrown  by  the  strange 
manner  in  which  he  had  been  assailed. 

Fortunately,  Ned  Clinton  comprehended  his 
vantage-ground  in  this  respect,  and  he  possessed 
the  sense  to  use  it,  without  an  instant's  delay, 
which,  probably,  would  have  wrested  it  from  his 
grasp.  He  aimed  to  keep  the  Indian  under  until 
he  should  drown,  as  there  was  every  reason  to 
believe  he  could  do.  The  preliminary  strangling 
thai  the  Delaware  had  undergone  contributed 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  36 

materially  to  this  end.  When  Ned  felt  the  vigor- 
ous savage  growing  weaker  in  his  grasp,  he  was 
strengthened  by  the  fact,  and,  almost  strangling 
to  death  himself,  he  still  kept  the  hot  poisoned 
air  in  his  throbbing  lungs,  until  he  shoved  the 
brawny  wretch  still  lower,  and  succeeded  in  rais- 
ing himself  upon  his  shoulders  into  the  life  restor- 
ing air  above. 

With  the  inhalation  came  renewed  strength  and 
confidence,  and  he  forced  the  Indian  still  lower, 
holding  him  there  with  the  strength  of  a  giant. 
In  a  few  seconds  all  was  still ;  but  Ned  did  not  let 
the  redskin  up,  fearing  that  he  was  counterfeiting 
death,  so  as  to  throw  him  off  his  guard.  But  in 
a  few  more  moments  the  Delaware  became  quiet, 
as  if  made  of  lead.  Then  he  dropped  still  lower, 
and  was  seen  no  more. 

"I  got  along  a  good  deal  easier  with  him  than 
I  expected/'  murmured  Ned,  as  he  resumed  his 
careful  and  deliberate  swim  in  the  direction  of  the 
island. 

The  purpose  of  the  fugitive  was  now  to  join  Jo 
Minturn,  who  had  preceded  him  to  Monacacy, 
and  for  whose  safety  he  was  greatly  concerned,  on 
account  of  the  trio  of  Indians  whom  he  had  seen 
following  after  him.  Common  prudence  wottfd 


36  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

have  dictated  another  course.  Knowing  that  the 
island  was  swarming  with  Indians  and  Tories, 
all  engaged  in  searching  it  from  one  end  to  the 
other  for  victims,  there  surely  was  little  to  com- 
mend in  the  way  of  a  refuge.  But  the  fact  that 
Jo  Minturn  was  there  was  enough  to  lead  Ned  in 
the  same  direction;  for  the  two  had  been  bosom 
friends  from  their  earliest  boyhood,  and,  when 
they  marched  out  of  Forty  Fort  that  hot  sum- 
mer afternoon,  it  was  the  determination  of  both 
to  stand  by  each  other  to  the  death.  Leaving 
this  profound  friendship  out  of  view,  there  was 
another  powerful  reason  that  would  have  led  Ned 
Clinton  in  the  same  course,  and  that  was  the  fact 
that  Jo  was  the  brother  of  Rosa  Minturn,— but 
of  that  hereafter.  The  young  man  was  quite  con- 
fident that  he  had  command  of  his  own  actions, 
and  although  the  other  redskins  might  miss  the 
warrior,  it  was  not  likely  that  they  would  attrib- 
ute his  disappearance  to  the  right  cause  and 
seek  to  avenge  it. 

"Jo  will  be  looking  out  for  me  and  I  for  him, 
and  both  of  us  for  the  redskins,  so  we  ought  to 
be  able  to  take  care  of  ourselves— hello ! " 

At  this  moment,  when  the  swimmer  was  begin- 
ning to  felicitate  himself  on  the  shape  matters 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  37 

were  taking,  lie  was  alarmed  by  seeing  the  heads 
of  three  Indians  who  had  passed  by  him  when 
he  halted  and  waited  for  the  fourth  warrior.  It 
was  plain  from  this  that  they  were  expecting  the 
one  who  was  never  to  come ;  and  the  instant  Ned 
caught  sight  of  them,  they  also  detected  him,  for 
one  of  them  uttered  an  exclamation  that  was 
intended  as  a  sort  of  summons. 

Ned  did  not  lose  his  self-possession  under  these 
trying  circumstances,  but  as  he  was  barely  visible, 
with  his  identity  as  yet  unsuspected,  he  once  more 
sank  out  of  sight,  and  by  a  few  vigorous  move- 
ments, placed  himself  so  far  beyond  the  point 
where  he  went  down  that  he  was  beyond  the 
range  of  their  vision  when  he  came  up  again* 
This  fortunate  advantage  he  increased  with  as 
much  celerity  as  was  compatible  with  his  own 
safety. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  DREADFUL  DEED. 

FOR  awhile,  matters  went  a  great  deal  more 
smoothly  with  Jo  Minturn  than  they  did  with  his 
old  friend,  who  had  fallen  behind  in  the  swim  for 
Monacacy  island.  As  they  had  set  out  to  reach 
this  island  it  seemed  to  Jo  that  the  sooner  they 
did  so  the  better  it  would  be  for  them.  Accord- 
ingly, after  he  struck  out  and  was  fairly  under 
way,  he  kept  straight  ahead,  even  though  it  was 
apparent  that  several  Indians  were  only  a  short 
distance  in  the  rear,  in  hot  pursuit.  Jo  was  quite 
swe  that  he  could  make  his  way  through  the 
water  as  rapidly  as  any  of  his  pursuers,  and  for 
this  reason  he  kept  it  up,  although  his  friend  Ned 
waa  beyond  his  sight. 

The  result  looked  as  if  Jo  had  taken  the  wiser 
coarse  after  all;  for  the  actions  of  Ned  kept  the  lit- 
tle company  of  Delaware  Indians  longer  in  the 
water  than  would  have  been  the  case  had  they 
sped  straight  onward  in  pursuit.  And  so  it  came 
about  that,  when  Jo  touched  bottom  and  was 

38 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  89 

ready  to  begin  wading,  he  paused  and  looked 
searchingly  around,  and  saw  nothing  at  all  of  his 
enemies. 

"Beat  them  swimming  after  all,"  with  a  littk 
natural  pride  over  his  imagined  exploit.  "It's  a 
pity  Ned  didn't  do  the  same,  instead  of  waiting, 
in  the  belief  that  he  can  outwit  them.  I  am  satis- 
fied that  we  must  have  a  little  more  experience 
before  it  will  be  safe  for  us  to  try  to  beat  the  sav- 
ages and  Tories  at  that  game." 

The  young  man  was  in  doubt  for  a  moment  or 
two  as  to  whether  he  should  stay  where  he  was 
and  wait  for  his  companion,  or  withdraw  a  little 
from  the  shore.  But  it  occurred  to  him  that  the 
pursuing  Dela wares  were  likely  to  leave  the  water 
at  that  same  point — in  which  event  his  situation 
would  prove  any  thing  but  a  safe  one.  He  therefore 
moved  back  a  step  or  two,  where  in  case  it  became 
necessary,  he  could  avail  himself  of  the  shelter 
of  the  undergrowth. 

He  was  not  a  moment  too  soon  in  doing  so.  He 
had  just  reached  the  spot  when  the  figure  of  a  man 
rose  from  the  water  less  than  a  rod  distant  and 
hurried  into  the  bushes  a  few  yards  from  the  shore, 
where  he  sank  down  like  one  who  was  hiding 
from  pursuers.  The  precise  point  at  which  he 


4O  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

emerged  -was  a  dozen  feet  below  where  Jo  was 
standing,  and  the  first  emotion  of  the  young  scout 
on  seeing  him  was  that  of  surprise  that  he  had 
failed  to  observe  him  when  he  was  in  the  river 
itself. 

The  incident  taught  him  the  wisdom  of  his  action 
in  withdrawing  from  his  exposed  position.  Jo  was 
convinced  that  the  man  was  one  of  the  fugitives 
trying  to  escape  from  the  Tories  and  Indians,  but 
where  the  situation  was  so  critical,  he  hesitated  to 
approach  or  hail  him,  and  it  was  well  he  did  so 
refrain.  For  the  individual,  whose  manner  showed 
that  he  was  wearied  and  exhausted,  had  scarcely 
dropped  into  his  hiding-place,  when  his  pursuer, 
also  unseen  by  the  young  scout,  stepped  from  the 
river  and  proceeded  in  a  direct  line  toward  him. 
This  man  was  also  white,  and  the  inference  was 
fair  that  he  was  a  Tory — one  of  those  renegades 
as  cruel  and  merciless  as  their  copper-colored  allies 
— without  the  same  palliation  for  their  diabolical 
enmity  of  the  settlers  of  Wyoming  valley. 

"If  that's  your  game,"  muttered  Jo,  "I'll  take 
a  hand  in  the  business,  myself,  for  I  can  stand  see- 
ing a  white  man  killed  by  an  Indian  better  than 
looking  at  a  white  man  slaying  one  of  his  own 
race," 


THB   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  41 

Jo  tmsltmg  his  rifle  from  his  back,  and  brought 
it  round  to  the  front,  so  that  it  would  be  ready  for 
instant  use,  and  he  followed  the  wretch  with  the 
stealthy  tread  of  an  Indian.  Enough  light 
remained  for  him  to  distinguish  the  Tory  search- 
ing the  bushes  and  undergrowth  for  the  fugitive, 
who  must  have  watched  his  approach  with  the 
most  poignant  feelings  of  terror.  Guided  by  a 
cruel  fate,  the  Tory  gradually  neared  the  hiding- 
place  of  the  fugitive,  who,  seeing  that  discovery 
was  inevitable,  came  forth  and  threw  himself  on 
his  knees  before  his  enemy. 

"Spare  me,  Brother  John ! "  pleaded  the  terrified 
fugitive,  for  it  was  his  own  brother  to  whom  he 
was  kneeling — "spare  me,  and  I  will  be  your  serv- 
ant as  long  as  I  live! " 

"That  is  all  very  well,"  was  the  inhuman  reply, 
"but  what  business  have  you  to  be  a  rebel?  " 

"I  was  only  fighting  for  my  family  and  my  home, 
and  we  have  been  defeated  and  enough  of  our  peo- 
ple killed." 

"Not  while  one  of  the  rebels  still  lives;  there  has 
not  half  of  them  been  killed  yet." 

"You  surely  wouldn't  kill  your  own  brother, 
John!  Let  me  live,  and  I  will  do  anything  in  the 
world  for—" 


42  THB   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

Further  words  were  cut  short  forever  by  the 
explosion  of  the  rifle  almost  against  the  head  of 
the  poor  wretch,  who  fell  backward,  killed  by  the 
bullet  of  his  own  brother.  And  just  here— lest  our 
readers  may  think  we  are  indulging  in  unwarrant- 
able exaggeration — we  may  state  that  the  incident 
just  given  is  a  fact  as  clearly  established  as  the 
massacre  of  Wyoming  itself.  The  name  of  the 
fratricide  was  John  Pencil,  and  of  his  brother, 
Henry.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  themselves 
were  shocked  at  the  unnatural  crime,  as  they 
well  might  be.  There  is  something  instructive  in 
the  subsequent  fate  of  the  fratricide,  which  is  also 
strictly  authentic. 

The  crime  was  so  atrocious  that  it  became  known 
to  all  the  survivors  of  the  fight,  and  John  Pencil 
never  dared  to  return  to  Wyoming  valley;  but, 
after  the  Revolution,  went  to  Canada,  where  he 
settled  in  the  wilderness  with  a  number  of  other 
refugees.  While  living  here,  he  was  twice  chased 
by  wolves,  and  on  each  occasion  was  saved  by  the 
Indians.  The  superstitious  redskins  at  last  came 
to  believe  that  a  retributive  fatality  was  follow- 
ing him,  and  they  refused  to  go  to  his  assistance 
when  he  was  beset  a  third  time  by  the  ravenous 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  43 

beasts  of  the  forest,  and  a  short  while  after  he  was 
set  upon  again,  and  literally  torn  to  pieces  and 
devoured  by  the  howling  wolves — fit  end  for  such 
a  miscreant. 

And  what  was  Jo  Minturn  doing  while  this 
frightful  crime  was  being  perpetrated  ?  When  he 
comprehended  that  the  two  men  were  really 
brothers,  he  could  not  believe  the  fugitive  was  in 
danger;  but  as  the  few  words  that  passed  between 
them  foreshadowed  the  atrocious  crime,  he  raised 
his  own  gun  with  the  resolve  to  shoot  the  Tory 
before  he  could  fire.  The  aim  was  taken  and  the 
trigger  drawn,  but  the  dull  click  that  followed 
proved  that  his  ammunition  had  become  so  wet 
during  his  swim  in  the  Susquehanna  that  it  was 
useless.  But,  impelled  by  his  burning  horror,  he 
raised  the  hammer  and  aimed,  and  pulled  the  trig- 
ger again,  only  to  be  chagrined  beyond  measure 
by  a  second  failure.  Ere  he  could  repair  the  error 
the  fatal  shot  was  fired,  and  the  deed  done  before 
his  eyes. 

Determined  that  the  monster  should  not  escape 
the  death  that  he  had  earned,  Jo  clubbed  his  gun 
with  the  purpose  of  braining  him  where  he  stood ; 
but  at  this  critical  moment  the  young  patriot  dis- 


44  THK   RIYER   FUGITIVES. 

coTcred  that  lie  had  been  seen  by  several  Indians, 
who  were  so  close  upon  him  that  his  danger  was 
greater  than  at  any  time  during  the  terrible  fight 
and  massacre.  Nothing  but  instant  flight  could 
save  him. 


CHAPTER  YL 

GLOOMY    FOREBODINGS. 

SUCH  being  the  case,  Jo  made  a  desperate  attempt 
to  elude  his  sleepless  enemies  by  a  tremendous  leap 
to  one  side,  and  a  furious  run  for  the  river,  which 
was  but  a  short  distance  away.  Like  most  of  the 
young  men  of  his  day  and  neighborhood,  he  was 
very  active  upon  his  feet,  as  one  needed  to  be  who 
ran  a  race  with  a  party  of  Delawares  or  Mohawks. 
The  fugitive  was  only  a  short  distance  from  the 
water,  but  he  took  a  diagonal  course,  so  as  to 
keep  in  the  shelter  of  the  undergrowth  as  long  as 
possible,  his  belief  being  that  by  this  means  he 
could  secure  a  chance  to  double,  and  perhaps  to 
leave  the  redskins  behind. 

The  young  scout  was  seen  at  the  instant  he 
started,  as  he  was  apprised  by  a  series  of  shouts 
and  yells,  telling  that  the  pursuers  were  close  at 
his  heels.  Jo,  however,  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Monacacy  island,  and 
thus  at  the  beginning  he  possessed  a  slight  advan- 
tage over  his  pursuers.  That  availed  him  scarcely 

45 


46  THB    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

anything,  unfortunately,  as  they  kept  so  dose  to 
his  heels  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  dodge 
out  of  sight  even  for  an  instant.  But,  for  all  that, 
Jo  Minturn  escaped  his  pursuers  by  a  means  that 
was  as  singular  as  it  was  rare. 

He  was  running  with  might  and  main,  when  it 
struck  him  that  his  only  chance  would  be  by  mak- 
ing a  running  leap  into  the  Susquehanna.  With 
this  purpose  in  view  he  made  a  sudden  and  sharp 
turn  toward  the  river,  but  had  taken  scarcely  a 
step  when  he  caught  his  foot  in  some  sort  of  a 
Tine,  and  he  fell  violently  to  the  ground.  Almost 
on  the  very  spot  where  he  fell  was  another  fugitive 
in  hiding.  This  poor  fellow  supposed  that  his  ene- 
mies had  detected  him,  and,  with  a  cry  of  terror, 
he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  dashed  off  for  dear  life, 
the  redskins  keeping  on  directly  after  him,  without 
any  suspicion  of  the  manner  in  which  the  identity 
of  the  two  had  been  changed. 

The  only  thing  that  prevented  their  discovery 
of  the  curious  fact  was  the  partial  stunning  that 
Jo  received.  It  caused  him  to  lie  motionless  long 
enough  for  the  Indians  to  pass  by  him  in  their  pur- 
suit of  the  man  who  ought  to  have  lain  still  where 
he  was  resting  when  he  was  broken  in  upon  so 
unexpectedly.  With  quick  returning  consciousness 


THE   RIYER   FUGITIVES.  47 

came  to  Jo  the  perception  of  what  had  taken  place, 
and  he  was  grateful  indeed;  resolved,  too,  that 
the  advantage  thus  gained  should  not  be  thrown 
away  by  any  subsequent  indiscretion  of  his. 

Cautiously  rising  to  his  feet,  he  looked  around 
and  listened.  Gazing  across  to  the  shore,  and  up 
and  down  the  valley,  he  still  saw  the  glare  of  burn- 
ing buildings,  and  heard  the  crack  of  the  death-deal- 
ing rifles.  Ever  and  anon  he  caught  the  savage 
yell  of  some  of  the  Indians  who  were  sweeping  up 
and  down  the  valley  in  search  of  more  victims, 
their  inhuman  thirst  nourished  by  what  it  fed 
upon.  Looking  in  whatever  direction  he  chose, 
there  was  little  to  attract  in  the  way  of  a  refuge 
from  danger. 

The  whites  were  fleeing  for  life  on  both  sides 
the  river,  and  there  were  many  in  hiding  on  Monac- 
acy  island  where  he  was  resting  himself  for  a 
few  minutes.  The  only  course  that  promised  any- 
thing at  all  like  safety  was  in  long  and  continued 
flight— that  is,  until  they  should  pass  beyond  the 
neighborhood  altogether.  That  he  would  not 
hesitate  a  moment  to  do,  if  he  could  only  secure 
the  company  of  his  friend,  Ned  Clinton,  from 
whom  he  had  parted  in  the  Susquehanna.  How 
to  rejoin  him  was  the  question  he  was  revolving 


4S  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

in  his  own  mind.  Troublesome  thoughts  were 
beginning  to  disturb  the  young  fugitive — fears 
which,  until  then  had  had  no  opportunity  to  make 
their  existence  known. 

"What  more  probable  than  that  Ned  has  fallen 
by  the  hands  of  some  of  the  Tories  and  Indians ! 
Our  poor  folks  are  lying  dead  everywhere  in  the 
bushes,  on  both  shores  of  this  island,  and  their 
bodies  are  floating  down  the  river  for  miles.  The 
ground  must  be  covered  all  the  way  between 
here  and  Forty  Fort,  and  I  wonder  how  things 
are  looking  there." 

In  the  last  sentence  he  gave  utterance  to  a 
dread  that  had  been  creeping  into  his  heart  for 
the  last  half  hour,  seeming  to  be  stronger  as  it 
reappeared  after  some  of  the  frightful  perils 
through  which  he  was  compelled  to  fight  his 
way. 

"I  remember  that  the  fate  of  the  fort  depends 
on  us;  and  as  we  have  been  utterly  routed,  of 
course  the  fort  must  go  to-morrow.  That  will 
place  everything  in  the  hands  of  Colonel  John 
Butler,  and  I  hope  the  folks  will  be  safe,  but  I 
can't  feel  sure  of  it." 

This  was  the  terror  that  had  been  gradually 
growing  ever  since  the  defeat  of  the  patriot  troops 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  40 

in  the  valley,  and  which  was  such  a  torment  to 
the  young  man.  Very  naturally  he  tried  to  argue 
himself  into  the  belief  that  his  fears  were 
unfounded. 

"  I  suppose  that  maybe  he  could  n't  keep  these 
Indians  and  Tories  back,  after  the  flight  of  our 
men,"  continued  Jo,  without  succeeding  in  con- 
vincing himself  that  such  was  the  case;  "but 
when  the  fort  surrenders,  it  will  be  to  him  and 
his  white  soldiers.  The  colonel  will  then  be  in  a 
position  to  make  his  wishes  respected,  and  he  will 
see  to  it  that  no  excesses  are  allowed.  There  are 
old  men,  women  and  children,  and  such  of  the 
fugitives  as  have  managed  to  dodge  the  Indians 
and  Tories  so  there  will  be  nothing  done  but  the 
surrender  because  there  is  nothing  else  to  do. 
But  a/terthe  surrender— what  then?" 

This  was  the  question  that  constantly  presented 
itself,  and  which  he  could  not  answer  in  any  way 
that  tended  to  quiet  his  anxiety.  Jo  knew,  as 
well  as  did  everybody  else,  that  his  sister  Rosa, 
who  was  at  the  fort  with  her  mother  and  decrepit 
father,  was  of  such  beauty  of  form  and  feature 
that  she  would  attract  attention  anywhere,  and 
much  more  among  a  band  of  Tories  and  rene- 
gades, commanded  by  such  a  man  as  Colonel 


50  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

John  Butler.  Jo  Had  more  than  suspected  for 
some  time  past  that  Ned  Clinton  looked  with 
affectioamte  reverence  upon  his  beautiful  sister, 
and  there  was  none  to  whom  he  would  have  seen 
her  betrothed  with  more  genuine  pleasure  than  to 
him.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army, 
or,  rather,  wai  about  to  be;  for,  a  native  of 
Wyoming,  and  attached  to  one  of  the  most 
widely  respected  patriot  families  of  the  place, 
he  was  on  the  point  of  starting  out  to  join  the 
army  under  Washington,  when  he  was  induced  to 
wait  awhile  by  the  danger  that  impended  over 
the  valley. 

If  Ned  held  Rosa  Minturn  in  sach  exalted 
esteem,  he  had  not  revealed  it  to  any  one,  not 
even  to  her;  but  Jo,  who  was  his  constant  com- 
panion, had  such  good  opportunity  to  discover 
the  truth  that  he  would  have  been  blind  had  he 
failed  to  do  so.  But  he,  too,  kept  it  to  himself, 
only  helping  matters  along  in  a  sly  way  by  some 
insinuating  remark  in  the  presence  of  his  sister 
relating  to  the  bravery  and  nobility  of  charac- 
ter of  Ned.  Jo  was  considerably  smaller  in  size 
than  Ned,  and  it  was  arranged  that  he  should 
enter  the  military  service  of  his  country  in  a 
year.  In  the  present  emergency  he  was  only  too 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES,  0*1 

eager  to  do  his  utmost  for  the  defense  of  his  own 
loved  ones.  But  Ned  -was  also  young,  and  be 
could  afford  to  wait  awhile  before  making  hiss 
love  known  to  her  whom  he  regarded  as  above 
any  of  her  kind  upon  the  broad  earth.  It  wa* 
time  for  war,  and  he  would  spend  the  interval 
until  peace  should  come  again  in  proving  himself 
worthy  of  her  love. 

"Colonel  Butler, "continued  the  youth, referring 
to  the  British  commander,  "is  a  regular  officer, 
and  will  act  as  such,  for  he  has  a  reputation 
behind  him,  and  is  responsible  to  higher  authori- 
ties." 

He  recalled  that  the  leader  of  the  Britidb 
forces  a  year  or  two  previous,  when  the  Revolu- 
tion broke  out,  was  a  government  functionary 
under  Sir  William  Johnson.  When  he  fled  to 
Canada,  his  family  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
patriots,  and  were  exchanged  for  the  wife  and 
children  of  Colonel  Campbell,  of  Cherry  valley. 
He  was  exceedingly  active  in  the  wars  on  the  bor- 
der, and  commanded  a  regiment  of  rangers  in  con- 
junction with  Brandt  and  his  Mohawks,  and  he 
was  a  dreadful  scourge  to  the  patriots  of  Tryoa 
county.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  in  spite  of  the 
savage  nature  of  the  British  leader,  that  tb« 


52  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

women  and  refugees  in  Forty  Fort  were  in  no  per- 
sonal danger;  but,  to  bring  the  matter  down  to  a 
fine  point,  Jo  dreaded  the  effect  of  the  beauty  of 
Rosa  upon  Butler  and  his  associates. 

War  is  barbarous,  as  the  patriots  had  already 
learned,  and  what  was  to  hinder  Colonel  Butler, 
if  he  took  a  fancy  to  the  forest  beauty,  from  claim- 
ing her  as  his  share  of  the  spoils  of  the  victory  ? 
The  question  was  a  dreadful  one,  in  all  its  sugges- 
tiveness,  but  at  the  same  time  it  was  one  that  Jo 
felt  must  be  met,  and,  if  possible,  answered 
promptly. 

"It  will  be  just  like  those  redcoats  to  pick  tip 
Rosa  and  run  off  with  her,  for  there  is  nothing  to 
hinder  them,  if  they  want  to  do  so,  and  there  can't 
be  any  doubt  that  lots  of  them  will  be  smitten 
with  her  the  minute  she  shows  herself.  Ah !  if  only 
the  old  scout  Ike  Wells  was  here,  or  I  don't  know 
but  I  would  just  as  lief  have  'Red  Jack  the 
Mohawk;'  for  he  is  a  good  friend  of  ours,  and 
knows  how  to  circumvent  the  redskins  better  than 
any  white  man  can.  But  what's  the  use  of  wish- 
ing? "  added  the  young  scout,  rousing  at  the  per- 
ils that  must  be  met  promptly,  if  at  all.  "I  might 
stand  here  all  night  or  for  a  week  and  do  nothing 
but  wish,  and  that  is  all  the  good  it  would  do  me. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  63 

I  think  I'll  try  to  reach  the  fort,  and  see  what  can 
be  done.  Wells  is  off  somewhere  with  Washing- 
ton, I  suppose,  in  New  Jersey,  so  it's  no  use  of 
looking  for  him  here,  and  Red  Jack  is  on  duty  tip 
in  New  York  state,  I  believe ;  so  we  must  depend 
on  Heaven  and  ourselves." 

He  walked  cautiously  a  few  steps  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  river,  and  then  paused  and  listened. 
The  same  sounds  were  in  the  air,  but  he  had 
become  accustomed  to  them,  and  was  listening  for 
evidences  of  danger  closer  at  hand.  Everything 
in  his  immediate  vicinity  was  still;  and,  though 
there  might  be  a  skulking  Delaware  or  Mohawk 
within  arm's  length,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  shift 
his  quarters  without  any  more  delay. 

His  anxiety  was  to  find  his  friend,  Ned  Clinton, 
and,  with  that  object  in  view,  he  picked  his  way 
with  great  care  to  the  side  of  the  island  com- 
manding a  partial  view  of  the  river  which  he 
had  left  but  a  short  time  before,  and  where  he 
hoped  still  to  see  his  comrade  swimming  cautiously 
toward  him.  Looking  out  on  the  dark  surface  of 
the  mildly  flowing  stream,  he  stood  for  several 
minutes  as  motionless  as  the  broad  stone  upon 
which  one  of  his  feet  was  resting.  If  any  one  were 
within  a  rod  or  so  he  was  quite  sure  of  detecting 


54  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 


.;  but  the  most  searching  scrutiny  failed  to 
show  anything  upon  which  he  could  build  any 
hope. 

"Ned  must  know  that  I  did  all  I  could  to  reach 
tfce  island,  and  that  if  I  am  anywhere  above 
ground  I  must  be  here.  I  hope  that  nothing  has 
happened  to  him." 

Any  one  would  suppose  that  Jo  would  have  felt 
greatly  concerned  for  the  safety  of  his  comrade, 
and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  was  anxious;  but 
at  the  same  time  he  had  an  abiding  faith  in  the 
skill  as  well  as  the  bravery  of  the  daring  young 
•cout,  who  had  shown  what  he  could  do  over  and 
over  again,  when  encompassed  by  peril  on  every 
band. 

"Hello,  Ned,  is  that  you?"  suddenly  asked  the 
watcher  in  a  guarded  undertone,  as  a  figure 
appeared  at  his  side  from  the  water." 

"I  believe  so,"  was  the  reply,  as  his  friend  joined 
him.  "I  propose  that  we  now  try  to  reach  the 
fort  to  see  how  the  folks  are." 

"I  am  with  you,"  was  the  glad  response. 


CHAPTER  VH. 

THE  FOREST  ROSE. 

THE  morning  succeeding  the  massacre  of  Wyo- 
ming rose  bright  and  beautiful  over  the  lovely  val- 
ley, which  looked  all  the  more  frightful  from  the 
appalling  scenes  it  had  witnessed  but  a  few  hours 
before.  Within  Forty  Fort  were  consternation 
and  distress;  for  of  all  the  representatives  of  the 
numerous  settlers  there  was  scarcely  one  who  had 
not  to  mourn  the  loss  of  some  father,  brother  or 
son,  who  had  marched  out  the  day  before,  to  the 
music  of  drum  and  fife,  with  heart  beating  high 
with  patriotic  resolve,  and  bounding  with  the 
belief  that  the  horde  of  redskins  and  Tories  were 
to  be  routed  and  scattered  like  chaff  by  the  whirl- 
wind. And  those  who  remained  behind,  to  watch 
and  pray  for  the  success  of  the  brave  defenders, 
could  not  but  share  in  a  large  degree  this  confi- 
dence. 

How  woeful  beyond  description,  then,  was  the 
disappointment  that  was  borne  to  them,  when  a 
few  terrified  and  bleeding  fugitives  came  rushing 


55 


66  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

back  with  word  that  the  patriots  were  routed, 
and  the  invaders  were  ravaging  the  valley  and 
massacring  all  upon  whom  they  could  lay  hands ! 
We  pass  over  the  horrors  of  that  ghastly  night, 
when  the  weeping  and  helpless  ones  watched  all 
through  the  long  dark  hours  for  the  coming  of 
those  who  were  never  to  come  again;  but  who, 
even  while  their  loved  and  sorrowing  ones  were 
looking  and  hoping  against  hope,  were  either 
struggling  vainly  against  the  foe  or  more  merci- 
fully, perhaps,  were  already  beyond  the  power  of 
torture  and  pain. 

As  has  been  stated,  Colonel  Denison  proffered 
to  the  Tory  Butler  the  terms  of  surrender,  that 
Colonel  Zebulon  Butler  had  drawn  up  the  night 
before,  previous  to  his  flight  to  Wilkesbarre.  We 
have  a  copy  of  these  articles  of  capitulation 
before  us  as  we  write.  The  articles  are  seven  in 
number,  and  substantially  agree  that  the  settlers, 
upon  condition  of  surrendering  to  the  chivalrous 
representative  of  his  majesty,  King  George  III., 
shall  be  allowed  to  occupy  their  farms  peaceably, 
and  the  lives  "of  the  inhabit  ants  shall  be  preserved 
entire  and  unhurt."  To  these  articles  of  capitu- 
lation the  name  of  John  Butler,  the  British  colonel, 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  67 

and  Nathan  Denis  on,  the  patriot  commander,  are 
attached. 

In  accordance  with  this  agreement,  the  gates  of 
the  fort  were  thrown  open,  and  Butler,  at  the 
head  of  the  Rangers,  and  a  Seneca  chief  at  the 
head  of  the  Indians,  marched  in.  The  arms  of 
the  men  were  stacked,  and  given  by  Butler  as  a 
present  to  the  Indians  with  the  remark,  "See  what 
a  present  the  Yankees  have  made  you." 

Among  the  patriots  in  the  fort  at  this  time  were 
Lorimer  Mint  urn,  a  gentleman  of  means,  but  so 
old  and  decrepit  that  he  was  physically  unable  to 
march  out  with  the  force  that  went  forth  to  bat- 
tle. He  had  insisted  upon  bearing  a  gun,  and 
taking  part  in  the  fight,  but,  when  Colonel  Butler 
saw  his  helplessness,  he  refused  to  allow  him  to 
go  with  them,  and  so,  much  against  his  will,  he 
was  compelled  to  remain  behind.  With  him  were 
his  wife,  Susan,  and  his  daughter,  Rosa.  By  a  curi- 
ous combination  of  circumstances,  all  the  relatives 
of  Ned  Clinton  were  fortunately  absent  at  this 
critical  period,  on  a  visit  to  some  of  their  con- 
nections in  Wilkesbarre. 

A  hundred  years  ago  the  Wyoming  valley  con- 
tained, as  it  does  now,  some  of  the  sweetest  and 
fairest  daughters  the  sun  ever  shone  upon,  and 


68  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

there  was  no  one  who  was  sweeter  and 
than  the  young  and  beautiful  Rosa  Minturn. 

She  was  the  twin  of  her  brother  and  therefore 
about  seventeen ;  but  in  mind,in  amiability,in  grace 
of  movement,  and,  indeed,  in  all  the  charms  that 
make  womanhood  so  winning  and  attractive,  she 
was  all  that  is  seen  in  those  whose  years  outnum- 
ber hers.  The  lustrous  blue  eyes;  the  wealth  of 
waving  hair,  as  black  and  glossy  as  the  raven's 
wing;  the  pearly  teeth;  the  tint  of  the  rounded 
cheeks ;  the  willowy  frame ;  the  musical  voice  and 
laugh,— these,  added  to  a  simplicity  of  character 
and  an  indescribable  charm  of  manner,  made 
Rosa  Minturn  a  girl  who  could  not  fail  to  attract 
attention,  and  win  admiration,  no  matter  where, 
or  under  what  circumstances,  she  might  be  seen. 

There  was  only  one  person  in  the  Wyoming  val- 
ley who  was  insensible  of  the  beauty  of  Rosa, 
and  that  was  herself—certainly  the  most  appro- 
priate one  that  could  have  been  named.  True, 
some  ardent  admirer  now  and  then  gave  expres- 
sion to  the  wonder  excited  by  her  remarkable 
attractiveness ;  but  the  forest  beauty  accepted  the 
florid  compliments  more  in  the  light  of  a  general 
acknowledgment  to  her  sex  than  as  a  personal 
tribute  to  hersel£ 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

On  the  day  of  the  surrender  Rosa  was  busy 
passing  to  and  fro  with  her  parents,  and  striving 
to  wean  her  mind  from  the  contemplation  of  the 
horrors  of  the  past  and  present  by  interesting 
herself  in  the  details  of  the  yielding  up  of  the 
fort. 

In  one  respect  she  and  her  folks  had  been 
favored  above  most  of  those  who  were  in  the 
refuge  with  them.  They  had  received  intelligence 
from  one  of  the  settlers,  in  whom  they  placed 
implicit  trust,  that  the  son  and  brother  Jo,  in 
company  with  Ned  Clinton,  had  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing off  when  it  became  apparent  that  the  fortunes 
of  the  day  were  turned  irretrievably  against 
them  and  they  could  accomplish  no  good  by  stay- 
ing and  fighting  longer.  Confirmed  in  so  much 
good  tidings,  the  parents  and  friends  found  it  very 
easy  to  believe  that  the  young  scouts  were  able 
to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  they  were  confi- 
dent that  the  two  had  reached  some  place  of 
safety  long  before. 

All  the  hum  and  buzz  of  the  surrender  were 
under  way,  and  Rosa  was  standing  a  little  apart, 
gazing  upon  the  scene  and  occasionally  exchang- 
ing a  word  with  her  mother,  seated  near,  as  to 
their  own  arrangements  for  taking  up  their 


60  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

quarters  again  in  their  own  home.  It  was 
natural  that  she  should  feel  some  interest 
in  the  British  Colonel  Butler,  and  when  he  was 
pointed  out  to  her,  she  scrutinized  him  more 
closely  than  any  one  else,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Seneca  chief  that  led  the  Indians  into  the 
fort. 

If  there  were  better-looking  men  than  Colonel 
Butler,  there  were  also  worse- appearing,  from 
which  it  will  be  inferred  that  he  was  a  person 
without  any  very  striking  characteristics  of 
appearance,  which  was  the  fact.  He  showed  a 
slight  inclination  to  corpulency,  though  not 
enough  to  disfigure  him,  as  his  military  training 
had  imparted  a  quickness  of  movement  not 
usually  seen  in  one  who  had  reached  middle  life; 
but  no  one  could  look  upon  the  face  of  the 
Briton  by  adoption,  without  being  unfavorably 
impressed,  for  there  were  signs  not  of  coarseness 
alone,  but  of  positive  cruelty  of  disposition. 
More  than  one  settler,  when  he  met  for  the  first 
time  the  cousin  of  the  leader  of  the  patriots, 
wondered  how  it  was  that  he  agreed  to  receive 
the  surrender  of  the  fort  at  all,  for  he  seemed  to 
be  one  who  would  enjoy  the  braining  of  the 


THB    RIYER    FUGITIVES,  61 

helpless  women  and  children  as  much  as  Thayen- 
danaga,  the  Indian  chief,  himself. 

Colonel  Butler,  the  Tory,  wore  no  beard,  except- 
ing that  which  had  grown  within  two  or  three 
days;  his  nose  was  large  and  unshapely;  his 
under  jaw  heavy  and  suggestive  of  his  combative, 
bulldog  disposition;  his  face  broad,  especially 
between  the  eyes,  so  that  in  this  respect  he  bore 
considerable  resemblance  to  a  common  type  of 
the  cruel  Indian.  Add  to  the  "points"  already 
mentioned  the  coarseness  of  the  skin,  which,  to 
one  standing  near,  suggested  the  ravages  of  small- 
pox, the  cold,  piggish  appearance  of  the  eyes,  and 
a  set  of  shaggy,  broken  teeth,  and  our  readers 
have  all  that  is  necessary  to  say  of  his  personal 
appearance. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DANGEROUS    ADMIRATION. 

ROSA  MTOTURN,  as  we  have  already  said,  was 
standing  somewhat  apart  in  the  fort,  watching 
the  details  of  the  surrender,  as  they  passed  under 
her  own  eyes,  the  time  not  having  come  as  yet  in 
which  her  own  folks  should  make  their  prepara- 
tions to  return  to  their  home.  It  seemed  to  her, 
since  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  had  been 
agreed  to,  that  there  was  no  need  of  further 
delay;  but  her  father  simply  replied  that  they 
would  wait  until  matters  settled  down  a  little, 
and  most  of  the  Indians  should  depart. 

And  just  there  the  old  gentleman  was  wise,  for 
his  experience  in  the  French  and  Indian  war  had 
given  him  a  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the 
Indian,  which  he  could  not  forget  at  a  critical 
time.  He  doubted  very  much  whether  his  family 
and  those  around  him  were  safe  anywhere  jttst 
then,  but  he  was  quite  confident  that  the  fort 
came  nearer  supplying  that  protection  than  any 

62 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  63 

other  place  they  could  select,  which  was  the 
reason  for  his  staying  there. 

At  the  moment  when  the  eye  of  Rosa  was  first 
arrested  by  the  figure  of  Colonel  Butler,  the  latter 
was  standing  just  outside  the  fort,  with  his  arms 
folded,  in  conversation  with  Colonel  Denison, 
from  whom  he  had  received  the  surrender  of  the 
post.  The  Tory  was  somewhat  the  taller,  and 
seemed  to  look  down  and  listen  to  the  words  of 
the  patriot,  who  was  talking  quite  vigorously. 
The  latter  gesticulated  Tery  freely,  swinging  his 
arms  almost  in  the  face  of  his  listener,  while  his 
eyes  snapped  with  anger. 

Colonel  Denison  was  protesting  against  the 
outrages  committed  by  the  Tories  and  Indians 
with  all  the  dignity  of  outraged  manhood. 
The  face  of  Colonel  Butler  was  marked  by  a  cyn- 
ical smile,  that  had  been  there  for  several  minutes, 
so  that  it  resembled  that  which  is  seen  upon  the 
face  of  a  man  suffering  from  a  cramp,  the  main 
difference  in  this  case  being  that  there  was  a  grim, 
sardonic  expression,  as  if  the  conqueror  was 
rather  pleased  than  otherwise  at  the  accounts  of 
the  numerous  atrocities  that  were  being  poured 
into  his  ears.  Finally,  he  yawned,  as  if  growing 
tired. 


64  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

"Well,  well,  colonel,"  he  said,  with  the  grin  still 
there,  and  displaying  his  tobacco-stained  teeth, 
"these  things  must  happen,  you  know,  and  why 
make  such  a  rumpus  about  them?  " 

"I  do  n't  see  why  they  need  take  place  at  all," 
was  the  instant  response  of  the  patriot.  "If 
civilized  nations  must  go  to  war,  there  is  no 
reason  why  they  should  transform  themselver 
into  barbarians!" 

"Well,  no,  you  would  think  not,  but  the  thing 
can't  always  be  helped,  you  know.  It  is  yon  who 
have  committed  the  greatest  blunder." 

"How  is  that?" 

"By  rising  in  rebellion  against  King  George, 
one  of  the  most  humane  and  Christian  monarchs 
the  sun  ever  shone  upon." 

The  countenance  of  Denison  flamed  tip,  for  he 
could  not  but  regard  these  words  in  the  light  of 
an  insult,  when  the  respective  situations  of  these 
participants  were  borne  in  mind.  Military 
officers,  as  a  rule,  are  not  noted  for  the  sweetness 
of  their  dispositions,  and  hot  words  came  to 
the  lips  of  the  patriot.  But  he  suppressed 
them,  under  tlac  reflection  that  the  safety  of  the 
women,  men,  and  children  might  be  very  easily 
involved  in  the  indiscretion  of  their  commander. 


THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  66 

"It  will  be  easier  to  decide  as  to  who  Has  made 
the  mistake  when  a  few  more  years  shall  have 
passed." 

"No  one  but  a  fool  can  doubt  the  complete 
extinguishment  of  this  rebellion  within  a  year  or 
so  from  now." 

"It  happens,  then,  that  the  country  abounds 
with  fools,  and  the  number  seems  Kkely  to 
increase." 

"It  has  always  been  the  case.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  if  the  people  were  left  free  to  say  what  they 
wished,  they  would  declare  the  rebels  should  lay 
down  their  arms,  and  that  ragamuffin  of  yours, 
Washington,  ought  to  be  hanged  so  high  that  all 
the  world  might  see  him,  and  remember  the  lesson. 
He  will  soot]  be  caught,  and  made  to  dangle 
between  heaven  and  earth." 

It  would  require  a  man  of  a  very  sluggish  nature, 
or  one  whose  patriotism  was  dead,  to  listen  to 
such  a  slur  upon  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  men 
the  world  ever  knew— he  who  was  "first  in  war, 
first  in  peace,  and  first  hi  the  hearts  of  his  country- 
men . "  Had  the  two  officers  been  al one,  or  had  the 
fate  of  no  one  beside  himself  depended  on  the  result 
of  Colonel  Denison's  words  and  actions,  he  would 


66  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

have  checked  the  slur,  ere  it  was  finished,  with  a 
blow. 

"It  is  idle  for  you  and  me  to  discuss  this  ques- 
tion," replied  Denison,  holding  his  anger  down  as 
best  he  could.  "I  concede  to  you  the  right  to  do 
your  own  thinking,  and  claim  the  same  preroga- 
tive for  myself.  We  are  banded  together  in  a  sol- 
emn compact  to  fight  to  the  end  for  our  liberties, 
and  we  do  not  believe  merely,  but  we  know,  that 
we  are  performing  a  high  duty  before  heaven.  If 
it  is  possible  for  you  to  think  you  do  right  to 
enslave  us,  why,  I  will  do  my  best  to  fancy  that 
you  are  not  particularly  to  blame  for  your  clouded 
understanding.  As  to  Washington,  I  cannot  listen 
to  any  reflection  upon  him  from  anyone.99 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  or  picture  the 
intense  passion  with  which  this  patriotic  but  dar- 
ing declaration  was  made.  Denison  spoke  in  a 
low  voice,  rather  lower,  in  fact,  than  usual,  only 
varying  the  ominous  undertone  by  a  slight 
emphasis ;  but,  as  he  uttered  his  reply,  he  looked 
straight  into  the  eye  of  the  Tory,  and  there  was  a 
lurking,  quivering  fire  in  his  own  eye,  such  as  is 
seen  in  the  orb  of  the  jungle  tiger  when  he  crouches 
for  his  fatal  spring.  Colonel  Butler  gazed  into  the 


THE   KIYBR    FUGITIVES.  67 

countenance  of  the  officer  with  an  expression  of 
disgust,  but  there  was  something  that  so  "backed 
up"  the  daring  words,  that  he  held  down  the 
exasperating  expression  that  was  on  the  end  of  his 
tongue.  Instead,  thereof,  he  laughed. 

"See  here,  my  fiery  rebel,  what's  the  use  of  yon 
and  me  talking  over  a  matter  that  we  can  never 
agree  upon  if  we  keep  it  up  to  the  crack  of  doom  ? 
I  have  a  question  that  I  want  to  ask  you." 

"I  am  ready  to  hear  it,"  responded  Denison, 
appreciating  the  wisdom  of  the  Tory  in  steering 
clear  of  the  collision  that  was  so  imminent. 

"For  the  last  ten  minutes  or  so,  I  have  noticed 
a  young  lady  standing  off  yonder  who  has  kept 
her  eye  upon  me  pretty  steadily.  In  short,  she 
shows  very  plainly  that  there  is  something  about 
me  which  has  caught  her  notice.  Don't  look  too 
suddenly,  for  I  do  n't  want  to  stop  her  pleasant 
occupation.  Who  is  she  ?  " 

The  cooling  indignation  of  Colonel  Denison  was 
instantly  turned  to  disgust  at  hearing  a  married 
man  speak  in  the  style  of  one  who  was  not  too  old 
to  be  his  own  daughter.  Nevertheless,  he  chose  to 
give  the  insolent  information  asked  for. 

"That  young  lady  is  Miss  Rosa  Minturn,  the 


68  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVE*. 

daughter  of  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of 
Wyoming." 

At  the  moment  of  making  this  reply,  the  speaker 
purposely  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  fair  object,  in 
such  a  pointed  way  that  she  could  not  fail  to 
understand  that  ste  was  the  one  who  was 
referred  to. 

"You  ought  to  have  been  more  careful, colonel," 
said  Butler,  in  an  impatient  tone.  "She  has  taken 
the  alarm,  and  is  walking  away." 

"Like  all  pure-minded  young  ladies,  she  is  embar- 
rassed to  find  herself  the  object  of  admiration." 

"She  is  certainly  a  remarkable  beauty." 

"And  as  good  as  she  is  handsome,"  added  Deni- 
son,  who  would  not  withhold  the  tribute  due  the 
young  lady. 

"Then  I'll  be  hanged  If  she  isn't  a  phenomenon 
of  goodness! "  exclaimed  the  redcoat,  his  gaze  fol- 
lowing the  object  as  she  moved  quietly  out  of  their 
field  of  vision. 

"Men  like  you  and  me,  colonel,  who  have  fami- 
lies of  our  own,  cannot  fall  to  be  pleased  when  we 
have  the  privilege  of  meeting  those  whom  we  can 
hold  up  as  models  to  our  daughters." 

The  fine  irony  and  rebuke  contained  in  these 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  69 

words,  were  lost  upon  the  brutal  Tory,  whose  eyes 
were  still  fixed  upon  the  spot  where  he  had  last 
seen  the  object  of  his  sudden  admiration.  He  mut- 
tered, as  if  speaking  to  himself: 

"I   must   see   more   of   that   beautiful   young 
rebel!" 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  QUARREL. 

THE  sudden  turning  of  Colonel  Denison's  head, 
accompanied  as  it  was  by  a  peculiar  expression  of 
the  speaker,  while  he  was  in  conversation  with 
the  Tory  Butler,  was  the  first  apprisal  Rosa  Min- 
turn  received  that  she  was  doing  an  imprudent 
thing  in  thus  scrutinizing  the  leader  of  their  ene- 
mies in  so  pointed  a  manner.  Her  face  flushed 
crimson  as  she  saw  the  eyes  of  Butler  follow  those 
of  his  informant,  and  she  turned  on  her  heel  and 
lost  no  time  in  making  herself  invisible. 

There  is  an  instinct  in  woman  that  warns  her  of 
the  approach  of  danger,  and  she  felt  as  if  she 
would  give  worlds  had  she  refrained  from  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  the  Tory  by  her  own  actions. 
But,  as  that  could  not  be  recalled,  she  resolved,  as 
the  next  best  thing,  to  keep  out  of  his  sight  alto- 
gether, refraining  from  showing  herself,  as  much 
as  possible,  until  after  the  departure  of  the  invad- 
ers from  the  valley.  This  would  have  been  no  very 
difficult  matter,  provided  she  had  not  drawn  the 

70 


THB   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  71 

attention  of  the  Tory  to  herself  and  awakened  a 
determination  on  his  own  part  to  see  her  further, 
in  short,  to  cultivate  her  acquaintance. 

And  so,  as  Rosa  passed  outside  the  fort,  and 
sought  to  lose  herself  from  the  sight  of  her  too 
ardent  admirer,  the  latter  did  not  wait  long,  but 
followed  her.  This  was  done  in  an  apparently 

aimless  manner;    for  Butler  wished  to  make  it 

f 

appear  that  he  was  merely  lounging  about,  with 
no  other  purpose  than  to  watch  the  actions  of 
those  under  his  command.  He  was  especially 
desirous  of  not  alarming  the  object  of  his  search 
by  too  great  precipitancy.  In  fact,  he  acted,  just 
as  if  he  had  gone  out  to  show  off  his  handsome 
form  for  her  admiration,  while  he  was  not  anxious 
to  see  any  one  himself.  But  there  was  an  eager 
look  in  his  face  as  he  gazed  around  upon  the  motly 
swarm  of  people  constantly  coming  and  going. 

"She  doesn't  appear  to  be  in  sight,"  he  muttered, 
after  he  had  searched  among  the  group  for  several 
minutes  for  the  one  who  had  so  captivated  him  at 
first  sight.  "Denison  tells  me  that  she  is  modest, 
bashful,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Well,  I'm  sure 
I've  no  objection,  for  I'm  blessed  she  is  just  the 
prettiest  lot  of  homespun  that  I've  seen  for  a  long 
time.  I  wonder  where  on  earth  she  could  have 


73  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVE*. 

taken  herself  so  quick.  From  the  way  she  gaped 
at  me,  there  is  no  doubt  she  was  impressed. 
That's  one  reason  why  I  take  so  much  pains  with 
my  uniform,  for  it?s  just  the  thing  to  catch  the  eye 
of  a  young  girl  like  her,  even  though  it's  getting 
pretty  well  worn.  There  is  something  in  a  soldier, 
especially  if  he  is  a  brave  officer,  that  they  don't 
seem  able  to  resist.  I  am  sure  that  it  will  be  an 
easy  thing  to  win  her  love,  and  the  taking  of  her 
away  as  a  prisoner  will  be  still  easier.  A  fellow 
might  as  wett  enjoy  himself  in  this  world,  and, 
indeed,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  him  to  do  all  the 
injury  to  the  enemies  of  King  George  he  can- 
though  I  don't  mean  to  harm  a  hair  of  her  head. 
Ah,  no,  the  dear  girl!  But  I  was  just  thinking 
that  the  old  folks,  as  a  matter  of  course,  would 
make  a  great  fuss  if  their  rosebud  were  plucked 
by  a  British  colonel  and  carried  away,  and 
suck  a  result,  bringing  distress,  would  be  my 
bounden  duty  to  my  king." 

Colonel  Butler  was  growing  quite  confidential 
with  himself;  and  as  he  stood  staring  round  the 
space  before  him,  where  the  Tories,  Indians  and 
patriots  were  passing  to  and  fro,  as  if  in  review, 
his  gaze  flitted  here  and  there  in  his  search  for  the 


THE    RIVBB.    FUGITIVES.  76 

fair  one,  who  seemed  to  grow  more  beautiful  and 
attractive  the  longer  she  kept  from  his  sight. 

"Rosa  Minturn,  I  am  told,  is  her  name.  WeH, 
that's  pretty,  but  it  can't  be  compared  to  her. 
Minturn,  Minturn,"  he  repeated  to  himself, 
musingly.  "  I  know  most  of  the  families  in  the 
valley,  but  I  don't  recall  him.  Now,  if  that  dog 
of  a  cousin  of  mine,  Zeb,  that  fought  us  so  hard 
hadn't  slid  out  to  Wilkesbarre,  I  could  have  found 
out  all  I  wanted  to  from  him,  after  which  I  would 
have  had  him  shot  as  sure  as  I'm  a  living  man, 
and  I  would  have  pleased  my  superiors  by  doing 
so,  too." 

When  a  man  is  very  eager  to  meet  some  one, 
and  is  kept  waiting,  he  is  apt  to  lose  his  temper; 
and  Colonel  Butler,  who  was  not  possessed  of  an 
angelic  disposition,  was  growing  angry.  For 
awhile  lie  smothered  his  wrath  for  fear  the  beauty 
of  his  face  might  be  marred  when  Rosa  should 
catch  the  next  view  of  it;  but  as  this  glimpse 
was  a  long  time  coming,  he  became  so  impatient 
that  he  was  compelled  to  give  expression  to  his 
feelings.  This,  as  might  be  supposed,  came  at 
first  in  the  shape  of  an  imprecation,  which  all  but 
himself  and  the  recording  angel  failed  to  hear. 


76  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

"It  beats  everything!"  he  added,  "that  all 
that  I  don't  want  to  see  are  passing  back  and 
forth,  and  them  that  I  do  want  to  look  upon  ain't 
visible.  Ill  be  hanged  if  I  don't  stand  here  all 
day,  if  it's  necessary,  to  see  her !  " 

The  time  was  ill  for  any  one  to  approach  the 
colonel,  but  as  it  so  happened,  Colonel  Denison,  of 
all  others,  was  the  one  who  appeared  at  his  elbow 
at  this  moment,  and  gently  touched  him. 

"I  am  sorry  to  trouble  you,  Colonel  Butler,  but 
the  Indians  under  your  command  are  becoming 
worse  every  minute,  and  there  is  reason  to  fear 
that  blood  will  soon  be  shed." 

"What's  the  matter  now?"  growled  the  Tory 
leader,  wheeling  about  and  scowling  at  him. 

"The  Indians,  who  seem  to  belong  to  all  the 
tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  are  pillaging  the  houses 
of  the  settlers,  and  when  I  venture  to  remonstrate 
with  them,  they  only  grin  in  my  face  and  appear 
to  care  nothing  for  my  threat  to  complain  to 
you." 

"If  they  do  n't  care  for  such  a  threat,  what  is 
the  use  of  your  coming  to  me  with  your  whining, 
then?" 

"To   have  it   checked   at   once,  as  due  to  the 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  77 

capitulation  which  you  and  I  signed,  and  which 
has  been  fulfilled  to  the  letter  by  me." 

Angry  as  was  the  Tory,  he  saw  it  would  not  do 
to  throw  this  appeal  entirely  aside,  coming  as  it 
did  from  the  officer  with  whom  he  had  treated, 
and  whose  sword  he  had  received. 

"I'll  see  what  can  be  done  to  stop  it,"  replied 
Butler;  "but  the  blood  of  the  Indians  is  up,  and 
there  are  so  many  of  them  that  I  don't  believe 
they  can  be  controlled." 

"A  colonel  should  never  assume  command  of 
any  body  which  he  cannot  control." 

The  Tory  turned  upon  the  patriot,  his  face 
working,  for  the  rebuke  was  a  cutting  one,  and  all 
the  more  so  from  its  unquestionable  truth.  The 
enraged  Butler  answered  by  assuring  Denison  he 
might  go  to  the  hottest  place  known,  and  then 
suddenly  paused  and  glowered  fiercely  in  his  face, 
as  if  to  hear  what  he  was  going  to  do  about  it. 

There  was  but  one  course  open  for  a  gentleman. 
Colonel  Denison  was  unarmed  and  on  parole. 
Without  a  word  he  turned  his  back  upon  the 
conqueror  of  Wyoming,  and  walked  away  from 
him.  Thus  ended  all  intercourse  between  the  two 
officers.  Butler  started  after  the  patriot,  as  if  he 


TS  THB    RIYER    FUGITIYBS. 

expected  to  see  him  turn  and  come  back,  bat  he 
was  disappointed. 

**I  expected  the  Indians  would  kick  up  a  moss 
about  this  time;  it's  the  way  they  hare  of  making 
war,  and  those  who  resist  them  must  be  prepared 
to  pay  the  piper." 

When  a  few  minutes  more  had  gone  by  he 
moved  his  position,  concluding  that  it  was  best 
for  Mohammed  to  go  to  the  mountain,  as  there 
were  no  signs  of  the  mountain  calling  upon  him. 

"The  Iroquois  may  tomahawk  every  rebel  in 
the  valley— women,  children  and  all— for  ought  I 
care,  so  long  as  they  don't  disturb  any  of  the 
glossy  tresses  of  my  charmer." 

An  hour  had  passed  since  he  had  seen  that  won- 
drous face  and  form,  and  her  continued  absence 
led  him  to  begin  to  suspect  that  perhaps,  after  all, 
there  was  a  purpose  in  her  remaining  so  long 
invisible. 

"I  don't  know  what  it  can  be,"  be  said  to 
himself,  as  he  reflected  over  the  matter;  "trot 
whatever  it  is  I  will  soon  find  out." 


CHAPTER  X. 

RATHER   TOO    KIND. 

COLONEL  BUTLER  carried  out  one  of  his  threat*, 
at  least.  Finding  that  the  prospect  of  seeing 
Rosa  Mmturn  was  slight,  so  long  as  he  held  his 
first  position,  he  changed  it.  But  a  mere  change  fail- 
ing, also,  to  bring  her  to  light,  he  resorted  to  inquiry 
or  stratagem.  The  first  point  he  played  was  to 
httut  up  old  Mr.  Minturn,  who  was  full  of  apprehen- 
sions of  the  trouble  from  the  Indians.  His  house 
stood  rear  the  fort,  and  he  was  leaning  on  hk 
cane  in  front  of  the  building,  with  one  or  two  of 
his  neighbors,  as  if  he  were  dubious  whether  it 
wottld  do  to  attempt  to  occupy  it  for  some  time 
yet.  They  varied  their  occupation  by  stealing 
furtive  glances  at  a  group  of  Mohawks  lounging 
about  the  settlement  under  the  influence  of  liquor, 
and  whom  the  patriots  were  anxious  to  avoid. 

When  the  little  party  of  white  men  saw  the 
Tory  colonel  approaching,  they  saluted  him,  and 
Mr.  Minturn  ventured  to  ask  whether  the  savages 

79 


80  THE    RJYER    FUGITIVES. 

might  not  be  put  under  a  stricter  surveillance,  so 
that  the  danger  could  be  nipped  at  the  bud.  The 
reply  of  Butler  was  a  signal  to  Minturn  to  come 
to  one  side,  so  they  could  converse  without  being 
overheard. 

"You  must  have  discovered,"  said  he,  in  a  confi- 
dential manner,  "that  there  are  more  Indians  than 
white  soldiers,  and  I  see  that  they  have  managed 
to  get  hold  of  some  liquor  somewhere;  so  there'll 
be  trouble.  We  shan't  be  able  to  control  and  keep 
them  down." 

"Great  heavens!"  exclaimed  the  horrified  old 
man.  "What  is  to  become  of  us,  then, if  you  can't 
do  anything  with  them  ?  If  you  will  give  us  our 
arms  back  again,  we'll  take  care  of  ourselves." 

"That  I  would  do  if  they  were  not  already  in 
the  hands  of  the  Indians.  However,  there  is  no 
reason  for  you  to  fear  any  harm  to  yourself  and 
family." 

"Pardon  me;  but  I  fail  to  see  why  we  are  not  in 
as  great  peril  as  the  rest  of  them." 

"We  shall  be  able  to  take  care  of  some  of  the 
rebels,  and  I  promise  you  that  I  will  see  that  no 
harm  comes  to  you  and  yours." 

"I  am  sure  I  am  deeply  grateful  for  your  kind- 
ness," replied  the  old  gentleman,  somewhat  at  a 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  81 

loss  to  understand  why  it  was  he  had  been  singled 
out  for  this  mark  of  leniency.  "  But  I  wish  you 
could  extend  your  authority  far  enough  to  save  all 
whose  lives  hare  been  intrusted  to  your  keeping." 

"So  do  I;  but  as  that  is  clearly  impossible,  I 
will  do  the  next  best  thing— save  all  those  whom  I 
can.  I  understand  that  you  have  not  been  quite 
so  outspoken  in  your  denunciation  of  his  majesty 
as  many  of  your  neighbors  around  you." 

This  was  something  after  the  order  of  the  wolf 
and  the  lamb.  The  Tory  felt  that  he  must  make 
some  show  of  reason  for  the  step  he  had  decided 
to  take,  and  he  threw  out  this  feeler,  entertaining 
no  doubt  that  the  listener  would  greedily  snap  at 
it  as  a  piece  of  diplomacy.  But  he  underrated  the 
sturdy  patriotism  of  the  old  man,  who  answered, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation : 

"I  cannot  consent  that  you  should  grant  indul- 
gence or  kindness  under  false  pretenses  on  my  part. 
I  am  sure  that  of  all  the  settlers  of  the  Wyoming 
valley  there  is  not  one  who  has  been  more  bitter 
and  severe  than  I  in  my  denunciation  of  the  brutal 
attempt  of  your  king  to  subjugate  the  colonies  of 
America.  This  much  I  must  say  in  deference  to 
truth  itself.  I  cannot  lie,  even  for  the  sake  of  sav 


S2  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

ing  my  own  life,  and  the  Hves  of  those  who  a»e 
dearer  to  me  than  all  the  wea?M  besides." 

"At  any  rate,"  continued  tke  TWEJT,  TOtib  a  fane 
effort  to  make  his  action  appear  e©»«iste»t,  "I 
understand  that  you  have  comported  yourself 
more  like  a  gentleman  than  the  majority  o/  your 
neighbors." 

"That  would  be  an  arraignment  ©f  the  motives 
of  my  friends,  to  which  I  cannot  in  justice  submit, 
without  protest.  No,  sir;  you  must  class  us  all 
together  in  that  respect." 

Unable  to  explain  satisfactorily  what  ke  had 
decided  to  do,  the  Tory  had  to  resort  to  the  only 
thing  left  at  his  command. 

"Rest  content  with  the  assurance  that  I  have 
the  best  of  reasons  for  showing  a  more  careful 
protection  of  the  families  of  yourself  a»d  several 
of  your  neighbors.  This  is  your  house,  I  believe?  " 

"It  is." 

"Very  well;  how  many  members  are  there  in 
your  family  ?  " 

"I  have  a  wife  and  daughter.  My  son  is  away." 

"Where  are  the  lady  members?  " 

"I  saw  them  a  few  minutes  ago,  but  cannot  «ay 
where  they  are  just  now." 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  86 

"Hunt  them  up  as  soon  as  you  can,  and  stick 
others  as  you  can  accommodate  comfortably  Mt 
your  residence.  When  you  have  done  so,  I  wffl 
have  a  guard  placed  before  the  house  and  no  ooe 
shall  interfere  with  you." 

"I  am  sure  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  yoor 
kindness,  of  which  I  shall  avail  myself  without 
delay." 

"Do  so,  and  good-bye  for  the  present." 

And,  saluting  the  little  group,  the  members  of 
which  had  been  allowed  to  hear  the  last  words, 
Colonel  Butler  withdrew.  In  the  course  of  tbe 
next  half  hour,  several  families  had  installed  them- 
selves in  the  house  of  Mr.  Minturn  and  among 
them  were  his  wife  and  daughter.  Later  he 
received  a  call  from  no  less  a  personage  than  Coio- 
nel  Nathan  Denison,  the  guard  being  in  the  act  of 
assuming  charge  of  the  premises  at  that  moment. 
After  saluting  the  inmates,  the  colonel  called  Mr. 
Minturn  aside  and  talked  very  earnestly  with  hkn. 
At  the  end  of  a  few  minutes  he  said: 

"You  may  be  safe  here,  but,  if  you  wifl  tabe  the 
advice  of  a  friend,  you  will  not  let  your  daughter 
Rosa  stay  until  to-morrow." 

"What  shall  I  do?"  asked  the  sorely  trcrobfed 


84  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

old  man,  fully  appreciating  the  warning  he  had 
received. 

"Send  her  to  Wilkesbarre  to-night." 

"  But  who  will  take  her  there  ?  " 

"I  will  find  some  one,  and,  if  I  fail  to  do  so,  I 
will  escort  her  myself." 

"Very  well.  It  shall  be  done,  if  the  thing  is  pos- 
sible." 

"Say  nothing  to  anyone  about  it  till  the  time 
arrives,  which  will  be  several  hours  after  dusk." 

The  agreement  having  been  made,  Colonel  Deni- 
son  took  his  departure,  little  dreaming  what  was 
to  come  to  pass  before  Rosa  Minturn  should  be 
allowed  to  start  on  her  flight  through,  the  wilder- 
ness to  avoid  the  Tory  colonel, 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  PLAN. 

THE  shades  of  night  closed  over  Wyoming  val- 
ley, and  still  no  one  knew  of  the  intention  of  Lori- 
mer  Minturn,  except  himself  and  Colonel  Denison. 
The  good  officer  while  carefully  avoiding  any 
direct  contact  with  Colonel  Butler,  managed 
to  keep  his  eye  upon  his  movements  and  sat- 
isfied himself  that  the  contemplated  flight  of 
Rosa  Minturn  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
her  safety.  His  knowledge  of  the  unscrupulous 
Tory,  aside  from  what  he  had  witnessed  during 
the  day,  convinced  him  that  the  man  would  not 
hesitate  a  moment  to  carry  the  girl  back  with 
him.  But  he  believed  that  daring  and  nerve  would 
speedily  place  her  beyond  her  enemy's  reach. 

His  great  desire  was  to  obtain  the  proper  per- 
son to  take  charge  of  the  undertaking;  for, 
although  ready  to  do  it  himself,  he  was  sensible  of 
his  own  disqualifications.  There  were  plenty  whom 
he  could  call  to  mind,  but,  unfortunately,  they 


86  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES, 

were  not  within  reach.  There  was  the  old  scotrt, 
Ike  Wells,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  -weeks  past ; 
bet,  superior  to  him,  and  indeed  to  all  others,  was 
the  famous  friendly  Mohawk,  Lena-Wingo,  or  Red 
Jock,  as  he  was  more  generally  known  among  the 
whites.  This  singular  Indian  had  been  one  of  the 
most  deYOted  and  faithful  friends  of  the  settlers 
fiw  a  half  dozen  years,  and  had  performed  deeds 
m  their  service  almost  incredible.  Especially  on 
tfce  bloody  field  of  Oriskany  he  had  imperiled  his 
life  over  and  over  again  for  the  sake  of  the 
wretched  fugitives,  whose  situation  was  fully  as 
terrible  as  their  fellow  sufferers  at  Wyoming.  But 
no  one  could  tell  where  Red  Jack  was.  There  were 
mmocs  among  the  Tories  and  Indians  that  he  had 
*ecently  fallen  by  the  hand  of  that  dusky  miscre- 
ant Brandt,  but  none  of  the  patriots  believed  it. 
Par  ail  that,  he  had  not  been  seen  in  the  Wyoming 
T«Hey  for  days,  and  so  Colonel  Denison  dismissed 
bun  from  his  mind  with  a  sigh  of  regret. 

Sext  to  these,  in  the  estimation  of  the  officer, 
cooie  Ned  Clinton  and  Jo  Minturn,  who,  if  the 
reports  could  be  believed,  were  still  prowling  some- 
where, keeping  out  of  the  way  of  the  Indians  and 
Torks.  They  were  brave  with  a  spirit  of  adven- 
;,  added  to  which  was  the  feet  that  one  was 


THB    HIYKR    FUGITITKft.  87 

the  brother  and  the  other  the  warm  friend  of  the 
yotmg  lady ;  so  there  could  be  no  question  abottt 
their  readiness  to  engage  in  anything  of  the  kind 
for  her  sake.  But  they,  too,  were  absent,  and 
unlikely  to  return  until  the  in  vaders  should 
draw  from  the  valley. 

"So  it  looks  as  if  I  shall  have  to  take  charge  of 
the  business  myself,"  said  the  colonel,  as  be 
revolved  the  matter  in  his  mind  for  the  twentietlt 
time;  "and  if  I  do  I'll  go  through  with  it,  or  some- 
body will  get  hurt.  Colonel  Butler  hates  me  ac 
bad  as  he  does  his  own  cousin,  and  he  will  go  fco 
any  lengths  to  square  accounts  for  my  interference 
in  an  affair  of  his  heart.  If  I  was  n't  actuated  by 
a  wish  to  befriend  such  a  good  girl  as  Rosa,  whom 
I  have  known  from  her  infancy,  the  prospect  of 
checkmating  such  a  scoundrel  as  he  would  be  all 
the  motive  I  could  need." 

It  was  certain  that  the  Tory  leader  held  not 
the  remotest  suspicion  of  the  trick  that  was 
being  arranged,  for  there  was  no  reason  that 
could  possibly  suggest  itself  to  his  miad.  He  stIM 
believed  the  young  lady  had  been  charmed  by  her 
first  sight  of  him,  and  was  only  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  shy,  coy  disposition  which 
he  had  been  given  to  understand  was  a  part  o£her 


88  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

nature.  When  she  came  to  learn  what  extraordi- 
nary care  he  had  taken  to  guard  herself  and  family 
from  disturbance,  she  would  be  filled  with  grati- 
tude. It  was  more  than  likely  that  she  would  fall 
on  her  knees;  or,  what  would  be  infinitely  more 
agreeable  to  the  old  scamp,  would  throw  her 
arms  around  his  neck,  and,  with  streaming  eyes, 
call  down  the  blessings  of  Heaven  upon  him  for 
his  noble  generosity  in  her  behalf.  Nothing, 
therefore,  was  further  from  his  thoughts  than 
that  this  little  bird-of-paradise  would  beat  the 
bars  of  her  cage,  and,  breaking  out,  fly  away 
beyond  his  reach.  Such  being  the  case,  the  parties 
planning  the  piece  of  strategy  were  possessed 
of  every  opportunity  they  could  ask,  except  the 
selection  of  the  proper  one  to  prosecute  it  through 
to  the  end. 

Although  Colonel  Butler  scowled  upon  Denison 
more  than  once  when  he  saw  him  going  to  or 
returning  from  the  house  which  was  the  great 
attraction  to  him,  yet  he  was  too  politic  to  inter- 
fere, when  it  was  plain  the  patriot  was  a  particu- 
lar friend  of  the  family.  The  villain  could  afford 
to  wait  awhile  before  stepping  in  and  spoiling  that 
game. 


THE   MVBR   FUGITIVES.  89 

The  night  was  well  advanced  when  Colonel 
Denison  and  the  father  of  Rosa  called  her  and  her 
mother  into  an  apartment  where  they  were  secure 
against  interruption,  and  made  known  their 
whole  plan,  which  could  not  but  create  dismay 
when  first  heard.  The  mother,  more  than  the 
daughter,  was  disposed  to  oppose  such  a  wild 
scheme  as  the  departure  of  the  child  in  the  night, 
when  it  was  necessary  to  cross  the  river  and  make 
a  journey  of  several  miles  through  the  wilder- 
ness before  they  could  reach  a  place  of  safety. 
But  a  few  pointed  words  from  Colonel  Denison 
convinced  both  the  ladies  so  thoroughly  of  the 
purposes  of  the  Tory,  that  they  were  not  only 
ready,  but  eager,  that  the  imperiled  one  should  be 
off. 

" Having  satisfied  you  of  the  necessity,"  said 
the  colonel,  with  a  quiet  emphasis  that  could  not 
be  mistaken,  "it  only  remains  to  agree  upon  the 
precise  means." 

"You  will  go  with  me?"  said  Rosa,  with  such 
an  evident  dread  that  the  officer  had  arranged 
for  her  to  make  the  journey  alone  that  the  others 
could  not  forbear  a  smile. 

"I  had  strong  hopes  all  day  that  I  could  find 
some  one  better  qualified  than  I,  but  the  very  men 


90  THE    RITBR    FUGITIVES. 

wbom  I  want,  and  to  whom  only  I  would  entrust 
jour  escort— Red  Jack,  the  Mohawk,  old  Ike  Wells, 
and  Ned  Clinton  and  your  brother  Jo — are  beyond 
reach,  and  so  we'll  have  to  get  along  without 
tfcem.  Consequently,  I  must  elect  myself  com- 
aaander-in-chief  of  the  retreating  party.  There- 
fore, Rosa,  if  you  will  accept  me  as  your  escort,  I 
irifl  see  you  safely  through,  if  the  thing  be 
among  the  possibilities.*' 

**  I  would  rather  have  you  than  any  one  in  the 
world/'  replied  the  young  lady,  with  the  trusting 
simplicity  of  her  nature. 

Colonel  Denison  bowed  gracefully  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  compliment  to  his  friendship  and 
honor,  which  was  not  misplaced. 

"It  is  natural  that  you  should  look  upon  the 
vetttere  with  a  little  shrinking;  but  I  have  spent 
a  good  deal  of  time  in  thinking  it  over,  and  I  can- 
not see  that  there  is  anything  very  formidable 
about  it.  We  will  cross  the  river  within  a  mile 
from  this  point—" 

"But  how?"  interrupted  Rosa,  who  was  natu- 
rally anxious  to  learn  all  about  the  expedition  in 
which  she  was  to  play  so  important  a  part. 

**I  believe  you  are  an  excellent  swimmer?  " 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  91 

"I  have  swam  the  Susquehanna,  but  I  don't 
want  to  do  it  at  night  if  it  can  be  helped." 

"Nor  is  it  my  intention  that  you  shall.  We 
shall  have  little  trouble  in  finding  a  boat  that  will 
bear  us  safely — " 

"Oh,  yes,"  interrupted  Rosa,  again,  in  her 
impulsive  way.  "I  know  the  exact  spot  where  a 
canoe  is  drawn  up  in  the  bushes  on  the  bank/' 

"And,  if  necessary,  you  can  manage  the  pad- 
dle." 

"Give  me  the  chance,  and  I  will  show  you." 

"In  short,  I  don't  see  why  you  are  not  fitted 
to  make  the  journey  without  any  companion  at 
aflL  But  that  is  all  fixed,  as  I  told  you  a  minute 
ago.  When  across,  we  have  less  than  five  miles 
to  travel,  and  as  Rosa  knows  every  foot  of  the 
way,  we  will  reach  Wilkesbarre  before  daylight." 

"  You  are  sure  that  Butler  suspects  nothing  of 
this?"  asked  the  father,  in  a  low  voice.  "And 
none  of  the  guards  either  ?  " 

"It  is  impossible.    Hello!    What's  that?" 

At  that  moment  there  was  a  gentle  knock  at 
the  door.  As  Colonel  Denison  sprang  up  and 
opened  it,  an  Indian  stood  before  them. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

A  VALUABLE  ALLY. 

THE  consternation  of  the  little  group  was  over- 
whelming when  the  door  was  opened  and  they  saw 
an  Indian  in  his  war-paint  standing  before  them, 
his  black,  serpent-like  eyes  glittering  as  he  looked 
down  in  the  faces  of  the  dismayed  group. 

All  believed  that  this  warrior  was  one  of  the 
guards,  that  had  been  set  by  Butler  to  spy  out  the 
doings  of  the  conspirators,  and  who  had  been  sent 
at  this  moment  either  to  arrest  or  scatter  them. 
For  a  few  seconds  not  a  word  escaped  any  of  the 
whites.  They  stared  at  each  other,  seemingly 
overcome  to  that  extent  that  they  could  not  com- 
mand their  utterance. 

The  Indian  was  very  tall,  and  of  thinner  frame 
and  more  handsome  features  than  are  generally 
seen  among  his  race.  His  face  was  so  thickly  cov- 
ered with  a  compound  of  paint  that,  had  he  been 
an  Adonis  himself,  he  would  have  appeared  fright- 
ful to  the  ordinary  observer;  but  the  patriots  had 

long  since  become  so  accustomed  to  the  most  for- 

02 


THB    RIVER   FUGITIVES.  93 

bidding-looking  creatures  of  his  kind,  that  they 
were  not  impressed  in  this  respect.  The  redskin 
was  the  first  to  break  the  silence. 

"Ami  welcome?" 

The  instant  these  words  were  spoken,  in  good 
English,  and  in  a  low,  cautious  voice,  Colonel  Den- 
ison  gave  a  gasp  of  delight,  and  sprang  toward 
the  door. 

"Give  me  your  hand!  Heaven  itself  has  sent 
you,  of  all  others,  for  I  have  been  praying  for  your 
coming  all  day.  Do  n't  you  recognize  him,  friends  ? 
This  is  Red  Jack,  our  Mohawk  scout,  worth  a 
dozen  men  at  any  time." 

On  being  introduced  in  this  fashion,  the  noted 
redskin  grinned,  showing  a  set  of  teeth  as  white, 
even  and  beautiful  as  those  of  Rosa  Minturn.  At 
the  same  time,  he  took  a  step  forward,  and  softly 
closed  the  door  behind  him.  Every  white  person 
present  was  acquainted  with  the  famous  Mohawk 
scout,  and  they  instantly  gathered  about  him, 
taking  his  hand,  telling  him,  in  cautiously  modu- 
lated tones,  of  their  pleasure  at  seeing  him  at  this 
time. 

He  was  a  great  favorite  with  Rosa  herself,  for 
whom  he  had  shown  an  attachment  from  her  ear- 
liest girlhood.  He  had  taken  her  many  a  mile  in 


34  THE    RIYER    FUGITITBa. 

his  canoe,  before  the  tide  of  war  swept  through 
the  valley;  he  had  shown  her  how  to  handle  the 
long  ashen  paddle,  and  had  taught  her  to  fire  the 
rifle  with  a  skill  scarcely  second  to  that  of  the 
ordinary  hunter.  Rosa  had  accompanied  the 
Mohawk  many  a  time  on  long  excursion*  into  the 
forest,  the  confidence  of  all  the  settlers  in  the 
friendly  Indian  being  perfect,  as  he  had  proven  his 
loyalty  on  so  many  occasions  and  in  so  marked  a 
manner  that  there  could  be  no  doubting  it.  8uch 
being  the  case,  it  followed  that  Lena-Wingo,  or 
Red  Jack,  was  held  in  special  abhorrence  by  the 
redskins  of  the  Six  Nations,  or  Iroquois,  who  were 
among  the  most  faithful  allies  of  the  Tories,  fight- 
ing in  the  interest  of  the  sovereign  of  Great  Brit- 
ain. It  was  known  that  for  years  the  Indians  had 
been  seeking  the  life  of  Red  Jack,  and  Brandt  had 
even  offered  a  reward  to  any  warrior  who  would 
bring  him  the  scalp  of  the  remarkable  scout. 

No  one  besides  Red  Jack  himself  could  guess  ho  w 
often  the  attempts  had  been  made  against  his  life. 
Nor  would  it  be  safe  to  hazard  a  conjecture  as  to 
the  number  of  times  that,  in  the  depths  of  the 
great  wilderness,  he  had  been  attacked  by  some 
sinewy  warrior  ambitious  of  winning  the  distinc- 
tion of  killing  so  distinguished  a  character  a*  the 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 


renegade  Mohawk,  as  he  was  called  by  his  own 
people  and  the  white  miscreants  who  had  turned 
against  their  own  race. 

After  Red  Jack  had  shaken  the  hands  of  his 
friends  over  and  over  again,  with  his  face  on  the 
grin  all  the  time,  Colonel  Denison  asked : 

"How  did  you  manage  to  get  inside,  Jack? 
Colonel  Butler  has  a  guard  around  the  house,  and 
the  Tories  know  you  so  well  that  I  should  have 
been  sure  of  their  stopping  you." 

"Don't  know  Jack  all  the  time,"  he  answered, 
signifying  that  he  possessed  more  than  one  plan  of 
disguising  his  manner  and  appearance,  so  that  his 
worst  enemy  and  best  acquaintance  could  not 
recognize  him,  particularly  if  he  was  favored  with 
the  darkness  of  the  night  beside. 

"I  see,"  said  the  colonel — "I  see, but  where  harve 
you  been?  We  have  had  bad  times  in  the 
valley—" 

' 'Jack  know  all  about  it, "  he  interrupted.  "See 
Seneca  Injun— he  tell  me." 

"And  you  were  missed,  I  can  assure  you." 

"Didn't  know  Butler  come  here,"  said  Jack,  in 
his  quick,  jerky  fashion.  "Jack  was  coming  down 
from  Cherry  valley— meet  Seneca— he  tell  him  aH 
abo«t  it— he  hurry  here." 


96  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

This  remark,  it  may  as  well  be  stated,  strength- 
ened a  suspicion  that  Colonel  Denison,  in  common 
with  others,  held,  to  the  effect  that,  although  Red 
Jack  was  practically  outlawed  by  his  race,  yet  he 
had  more  than  one  friend  among  them,  who 
apprised  him  of  many  movements  intended  to 
work  him  ill.  But  the  officer  was  careful  to  keep 
his  suspicion  from  the  Mohawk  himself.  Red 
Jack  made  some  inquiries  of  the  whites  as  to  the 
fate  of  their  friends  — particularly  of  the  two 
young  men,  Ned  Clinton  and  Jo  Minturn— and  he 
was  not  a  little  pleased  to  be  told  that  there  was 
every  reason  to  believe  they  were  out  of  danger. 
Colonel  Denison  then  proceeded  to  tell  the  scheme 
for  placing  Rosa  Minturn  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
Tory  leader — the  girl,  of  course,  to  be  put  in  care 
of  the  Mohawk.  The  latter  stood  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  looking  down  into  the  face  of  the 
colonel  while  he  was  unfolding  the  scheme.  When 
it  was  finished,  he  nodded  his  head  to  signify 
that  he  understood  what  was  expected  of  him. 

"All  right,  all  right;  Jack  will  take  her  to 
Wilkesbarre.  He  knows  the  way.  He  lead  her 
there  to-night." 

Rosa  was  the  most  delighted  one  of  the  party, 
for,  despite  the  enthusiasm  with  which  she 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  97 

received  the  announcement  of  the  colonel  that  he 
was  to  be  her  escort,  she  was  more  pleased  over 
the  companionship  of  the  Mohawk  than  she  could 
be  with  any  one  else,  for  the  reason  that  she  knew 
that  no  five  men  were  as  competent  as  he.  This 
was  the  whole  thing  in  a  nutshell,  and  so  great 
was  her  trust  in  her  dusky  friend  that  she  looked 
on  the  expedition  much  as  she  did  upon  her  former 
excursions  into  the  wilderness.  The  night  was 
clear.  There  was  a  partial  moon,  and  the  air  was 
just  cool  enough  to  make  it  pleasant  without  or 
within.  So  she  was  rather  desirous  of  being 
under  way. 

The  long  slowly  ticking  clock  in  the  corner 
showed  that  the  fan-like  hour  hand  was  close  on 
the  figure  eleven.  It  was  time,  therefore,  that 
some  move  was  made  to  carry  out  the  programme, 
for  at  that  season  of  the  year  the  nights  were 
short  and  the  fugitives  likely  to  need  all  the  hours 
remaining  to  them.  It  was  agreed,  therefore, 
that  in  the  course  of  the  next  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
the  start  should  be  made. 

Red  Jack,  when  he  had  the  whole  scheme  of 
Colonel  Denison,  said  that  he  would  vary  it 
considerably.  Instead  of  crossing  the  Susquehanna 
at  the  point  designated  by  the  officer,  he  intended 


98  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVE*. 

to  keep  on  up  the  stream  till  he  passed  aboT« 
"Queen  Esther's  Rock,"  as  it  has  since  been 
christened,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  less  like- 
lihood  of  their  attracting  the  notice  of  their 
enemies  above  than  below  the  place  named.  After 
going  over,  he  was  inclined  to  favor  a  circuitous 
route  instead  of  a  direct  one  to  Wilkesbarre,  and 
he  thought  it  likely  that  he  would  push  back  to 
the  mountain  range  to  the  southeast,  before  mak- 
ing it. 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  house  of  Mr. 
Minturn  was  simply  guarded  from  disturbance 
from  the  outside,  there  being  no  intention  of 
interfering  with  the  freedom  of  the  inmates.  At 
the  same  time  there  was  no  restriction  put  upon 
the  movements  of  those  who  desired  to  call  at  the 
house.  The  task  which  was  projected  was,  there- 
fore, so  far  as  appearances  went,  quite  simple  in 
its  character — about  the  only  difficulty  consisting 
in  getting  away  without  the  departure  being 
Moticed.  The  faint  moonlight,  the  presence  of  the 
two  sentinels  pacing  up  and  down  in  front,  and 
the  single  one  keeping  faithful  ward  at  the  rear  of 
the  premises,  surrounded  the  work  with  some 
labor,  but  all  were  confident  it  could  be  accom- 
plished with  little  danger. 


THE    RIYER   FUGITIVES.  96 

Red  Jack,  having  entered  as  a  messenger  from 
Colonel  Butler  to  the  owner  of  the  place,  it  was 
advisable  that  he  should  pass  out  again  in  the 
same  guise.  The  plan  fixed  upon,  therefore,  was 
for  him  to  stalk  boldly  out  of  the  front  door  and 
make  his  way  to  a  well  known  oak,  standing  just 
outside  the  small  cluster  of  settlements,  and 
scarcely  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  from  the  fort 
itself,  where  he  would  await  the  coming  of  Rosa. 
When  she  should  reach  that  point,  the  rest  of  the 
journey,  to  their  minds,  would  be  clear  sailing. 

Within  five  minutes  of  explanation  of  the  whole 
plan  the  Mohawk  passed  out  of  the  front  door, 
with  as  proud  a  step  as  if  he  were  the  leader  of 
the  Iroquois  himself,  who  had  been  holding  an 
important  council  of  war  with  his  commander. 
He  made  his  way  to  the  appointed  rendezvous, 
where  he  prepared  to  wait  with  the  calm  patience 
of  his  race,  willing,  if  necessary,  to  stay  there  the 
night  through,  without  the  first  twinge  of  dis- 
satisfaction at  the  delay  of  others.  The  plan  of 
Rosa  was  simple,  and,  no  doubt,  the  best  one 
possible.  She  intended  to  throw  her  ghawl  ore* 
her  shoulders  and  walk  out  of  the  front  door  jtut 
as  the  Mohawk  had  done,  but  to  make  her  way 
with  more  caution  to  the  old  oak,  taking 


100  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

that  she  was  not  watched  or  followed  by  anyone. 
The  stratagem  to  be  employed  by  her  was  to 
imitate  the  gait  of  her  mother  so  closely  that  it, 
together  with  her  makeup,  would  lead  any  one  to 
take  her  for  her  parent.  It  was  characteristic  of 
the  affectionate  and  reverent  nature  of  the  girl 
that  she  should  feel  some  repugnance  against  doing 
this,  on  the  ground  that  it  savored  of  something 
like  burlesquing  the  gait  of  her  mother,  though, 
of  course,  her  scruples  were  speedily  overcome. 

It  was  certainly  strange  how  matters  shaped 
themselves  that  night.  Everything  was  in  readi- 
ness when  all  were  startled  by  a  knock  upon  the 
outside  door,  the  room  in  which  they  were  sitting 
being  separated  from  the  main  reception  apart- 
ment. 

"Stay  where  you  are,  and  don't  speak,"  said 
Mr.  Minturn,  rising  to  his  feet,  "and  I  will  attend 
to  the  call.  I  don't  understand  who  can  want  to 
see  me  at  this  late  hour." 

On  repairing  to  the  door  and  opening  it,  who 
should  the  old  gentleman  see  before  him  but  Colo- 
nel Butler  himself? 

"  Good-evening, "  said  the  Tory,  with  a  laugh, 
as  he  extended  his  hand.  "I  was  going  by  when 


•  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  101 

I  observed  a  light,  and  thought  I  would  drop  in 
and  see  how  things  are  with  you." 

"Good-evening,  Colonel  Butler,"  said  the  host, 
speaking  in  a  loud  voice,  so  that  those  in  the  inner 
room  might  know  who  their  unwelcome  guest  was. 
14 It  is  rather  late,  but  come  inside." 

With  many  apologies  for  disturbing  the  settler 
at  this  late  hour,  the  Tory  stepped  within  and 
took  a  seat.  And  there  he  sat  for  a  full  hour,  till 
midnight  came  and  passed,  talking  to  the  patriot, 
who  was  obliged  to  do  his  utmost  to  dissemble 
his  impatience,  while  he  answered  his  impertinent 
questions,  as  best  he  could,  regarding  his  family, 
and  more  particularly  about  his  daughter,  his 
apparently  trivial  inquiries  bearing  an  unusual 
significance  in  view  of  the  incidents  of  the  day. 
At  last  he  rose  to  go,  promising  to  do  himself  the 
honor  of  calling  on  Rosa  the  next  day. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  FLIGHT. 

first  arrangement  contemplated  that  Colo- 
Denison  should  act  as  the  escort  of  Rosa  Min- 
until  she  was  well  by  the  fort,  after  which 
she  could  readily  pass  the  intervening  distance 
without  any  attendant.  But,  while  Butler  was  in 
tAie  adjoining  room,  this  plan  was  changed.  The 
patriot  officer  believed  that  the  enemy  was  likely 
to  hold  the  house  under  surveillance  for  an  hour 
or  two  to  come,  on  the  principle  of  the  smitten 
lorer  finding  pleasure  in  looking  upon  the  residence 
of  her  who  holds  possession  of  his  heart. 

No  man  is  so  foolish  and  "spooney"  as  the  one 
who  has  no  right  to  be  so,  and  the  colonel  showed 
a  commendable  knowledge  of  human  nature  when 
he  gttarded  against  the  too  close  attention  of  the 
individual  whom  they  were  seeking  to  avoid. 
Nothing  would  look  more  natural  than  to  see  the 
eommander  of  the  vanquished  forces  acting  as  the 
e**ort  of  the  lady  of  the  house,  when  going  off 
QW  JKHMC  errand,  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night. 

102 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  106 

But  as  the  Tory,  sooner  or  later,  must  discover 
that  the  bird  had  flown,  so  he  was  almost  sure  to 
find  out  the  precise  means  by  which  it  had  been 
done,  and  he  would  be  the  more  convinced  of  the 
plot  if  able  to  recall  the  fact  that  he  had  seen  the 
rebel  colonel  and  her  together  on  the  night  at  the 
disappearance. 

Something  less  than  a  half  hour  after  the  depart- 
ure of  Butler,  the  lights  in  the  house  of  the  Min- 
turns  were  extinguished,  as  if  the  inmate*  had 
retired  for  the  night.  Within  the  next  ten  minute* 
the  figure  of  an  old  woman,  as  it  appeared,  tame 
out  of  the  front  door,  and  stooping,  as  if  with  old 
age  and  weakness,  began  walking  slowly  in  the 
direction  of  the  fort,  the  intention  being  to  turn  oft 
and  pass  behind  it  before  approaching  near  enough 
to  attract  the  notice  of  any  of  the  Tories  and 
Indians  that  seemed  to  be  wandering  everywhere, 
despite  the  late  hour  of  the  night. 

Rosa  was  so  full  of  the  scheme  that  she  was  in 
danger  of  betraying  her  assumed  character,  by 
returning  to  her  natural  elastic  walk,  but  she  tried 
her  best  to  keep  in  mind  the  parting  instructions 
of  Colonel  Denison,  who,  with  her  parents,  we»e 
watching  her,  as  long  as  she  continued  visible, 
from  an  upper  window.  She  speedily  disappeared 


104  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

in  the  darkness,  and  those  whom  she  had  left 
behind  could  only  pray  for  the  success  of  the 
scheme,  which  had  now  progressed  too  far  to  be 
recalled. 

When  Rosa  passed  outside  the  gate,  she  almost 
ran  against  the  sentinel  who  was  pacing  back  and 
forth  on  his  beat.  So  near  was  the  collision,  on 
account  of  the  man  turning  at  that  moment,  that 
she  gave  utterance  to  a  slight  exclamation  of  fear, 
upon  which  the  sentinel  raised  his  hat  and  apolo- 
gized. 

"Pardon  my  rudeness,  miss.  It  was  uninten- 
tional!" 

The  fact  that  he  addressed  her  as  a  young  lady 
alarmed  Rosa,  and  led  her  to  believe  her  folks  were 
mistaken  as  to  the  flight  not  being  suspected.  But, 
without  doing  anything  more  than  to  bow,  she 
resumed  her  walk,  still  stepping  off  far  more  act- 
ively in  her  excitement  than  was  prudent  or  safe. 
Her  heart  throbbed  violently,  for  the  undertaking 
assumed  a  more  formidable  character  than  before, 
and  the  cries  of  marauding  Indians — many  of 
whom  were  at  no  great  distance— caused  her  to 
shiver  with  terror  and  stare  fearfully  around, 
expecting  to  see  the  ones  whom  she  dreaded  as  she 
did  death  itself. 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  105 

She  had  reached  a  point  midway  between  her 
home  and  the  rendezvous,  when,  to  her  dismay, 
she  caught  sight  of  several  straggling  forms 
almost  directly  before  her,  and  only  a  rod  or  two 
distant.  She  stopped  in  her  rapid  walk,  uncertain 
what  she  ought  to  do,  for  there  seemed  littlechoice 
between  going  back  and  pressing  forward.  If  the 
men  attempted  to  insult  her,  she  could  turn  about 
and  flee  to  the  protection  of  the  sentinels  in  front 
of  her  own  door.  But  she  wished  to  avoid  this 
return,  if  possible,  for  the  reason  that  the  night 
was  already  so  far  advanced  that  time  was  becom- 
ing incalculably  precious,  and  she  believed  that,  if 
she  lingered  much  longer  by  the  way,  the  whole 
project  must  fail  altogether. 

While  she  stood  wavering  and  undecided,  the 
moving  figures  seemed  to  swing  off  to  one  side  and 
out  of  her  path.  She  instantly  resumed  her  walk 
in  the  direction  of  the  oak,  still  timid,  hesitating 
and  holding  herself  ready  to  turn  about  and  flee 
like  a  bird  the  instant  the  marauders  ventured  to 
approach  her.  In  the  gloom  of  the  night  the  fair 
fugitive  was  unable  to  tell  whether  the  dreaded 
parties  were  Indians  or  Tories,  and,  in  fact,  it 
made  little  difference  to  which  race  they  belonged, 
as  one  set  was  about  as  bad  as  the  other. 


K>6  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

Approaching  a  few  steps  nearer,  she  was  able  to 
aiake  oat  that  there  were  three  of  them,  and  they 
were  white  men,  it  following,  of  course,  that  they 
belonged  to  the  Tory  band  of  Colonel  Butler,  and 
they  were  as  much  to  be  dreaded  as  if  they  were 
so  many  Mohawks.  Still  further,  they  were  under 
the  influence  of  liquor  to  that  extent  that  they 
were  lolling  against  each  other,  and  indulging  in 
maudlin  snatches  of  song.  As  yet  they  showed  no 
signs  of  having  seen  the  trembling  girl,  who  was 
stealing  along  so  timidly,  and  watching  every 
fijorement  on  their  part;  but  there  was  no  telling 
when  they  would  catch  sight  of  her. 

Under  the  circumstances,  Rosa  was  well  able  to 
nm  a  great  deal  faster  than  they,  but  in  her  not 
unnatural  dread,  she  feared  that  they  would  fire 
their  guns  at  her,  or  else  call  some  one  to  their 
assistance  and  secure  her  capture  before  she  could 
return  to  the  protection  of  the  guards  she  had  left 
behind,  or  could  reach  the  waiting  Mohawk  under 
the  shadow  of  the  oak.  Urged  onward  by  the 
knowledge  that  the  night  was  fast  wearing  away, 
sfoe  crept  still  nearer  them,  who  were  staggering, 
first  upon  one  side  of  the  path  and  then  upon  the 
other,  but,  provokingly  enough,  refusing  to  leave 
it  ffoar  altogether  for  her  to  pass. 


THB   RITER    FUGITIVES.  107 

Finally  it  occurred  to  the  fugitive  that,  by  mak- 
ing a  little  detour,  she  could  flank  them  without 
attracting  their  notice.  With  this  purpose,  she 
moved  toward  the  left,  and  succeeded  in  reaching 
a  point  almost  opposite,  when  they  saw  her. 

"Hello!  "  muttered  one  of  the  trio,  straightening 
up;  "what  have  we  here?  It  looks  to  me  like  some 
pretty  young  rebel." 

There  it  was  again;  the  men,  drunk  as  they 
were,  saw  that  she  was  not  an  old  woman,  as  she 
had  been  trying  to  appear.  As  the  words  were 
uttered,  the  three  took  a  step  toward  the  object  of 
their  interest,  showing  that  they  meant  to  satisfy 
their  curiosity  as  to  the  identity  of  the  person 
who  was  abroad  at  this  unseemly  hour  of  the 
night.  It  was  no  time  to  play  the  part  of  the  old 
lady,  for  if  she  ever  needed  all  her  nimble-footed- 
ness,  this  was  the  time  and  here  was  the  place. 
Rosa  did  not  pause  to  make  reply,  but,  without 
appearing  to  run,  she  walked  as  rapidly  as  she 
could,  as  though  from  a  natural  hurry  instead  of 
fleeing  from  the  party. 

"Hold  on  there !"  called  out  a  second  person, 
who  was  less  under  the  influence  of  liquor  than 
either  of  the  others.  "Hold  on  there,  I  say, young 


108  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

The  only  effect  of  this  summons  was  to  increase 
the  speed  of  the  girl,  who  was  as  terrified  as  it  was 
possible  for  her  to  be  and  still  retain  her  senses. 
The  walk  became  a  run,  seeing  which  the  three 
men  immediately  started  in  full  chase  after  her. 

"Just  see  her  spin  along! "  exclaimed  one  of  the 
pursuers,  who  was  leading  the  others.  "She  goes 
like  a  deer.  Stop,  I  say!"  he  added,  in  a  still 
louder  voice.  "If  you  do  n't,  I'll  fire  at  you." 

This  was  the  last  feather,  and  the  frightened 
Rosa  sped  away  with  all  the  speed  at  her  com- 
mand. There  was  fleetness  in  such  a  gait,  and  she 
speedily  left  the  Tories  behind,  seeing  which,  one 
of  them  attempted  to  fire  his  musket  over  the  head 
of  the  fugitive,  but  missed  striking  her  by  a  nar- 
row chance. 

Rosa  was  speeding  in  the  direction  of  the  tree, 
where  she  knew  the  Mohawk  was  awaiting  her, 
and  she  was  sure  of  making  it  in  time,  when,  to 
her  dismay,  a  fourth  Tory  suddenly  appeared 
before  her,  directly  in  her  path  I 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LENA-WINGO  STEPS  TO  THE  FRONT. 

FOR  one  moment  Rosa  Minturn  despaired,  as 
the  figure  of  the  man  appeared  in  the  path  before 
her. 

"Have  no  fear,  my  dear  Rosa;  I  will  protect  you 
from  all  harm." 

It  was  the  voice  of  Colonel  Butler— the  very 
man  whom  she  was  fleeing  from.  The  knowledge 
gave  her  nerve  again,  and  she  rallied,  and  darting 
to  one  side,  attempted  to  flank  the  man;  but 
Butler  had  recognized  her,  and  did  not  propose 
to  let  her  slip  through  his  grasp  in  this  fashion. 

"My  dearest  Rosa,  I  beseech  you  not  to  try  to 
run  away  from  a  friend ;  it's  I,  Colonel  Butler,  the 
one  that  loves  you  more  than  all  the  world 
beside,  and  that  you  admire  so  much.  Just  put 
yourself  in  my  care,  and  it  will  be  all  right." 

But  he  was  the  one  in  whose  care  she  did  not 
mean  to  place  herself,  and  she  abated  her  exertions 
not  in  the  slightest.  It  seemed,  however,  as  if  a 
fatality  were  following  her,  for  just  as  she  was 

109 


110  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

sttrc  of  escaping  him  altogether,  her  foot  tripped 
in  something,  and,  although  she  did  not  fall,  she 
saved  herself  so  narrowly,  that  when  she  recovered, 
the  Tory  stood  before  her,  with  arms  outspread, 
ready  to  enfold  her  within  them  the  moment  the 
took  a  step  forward.  It  appeared  useless  to 
straggle  any  longer,  and  the  poor  girl  paused, 
dismayed  and  despairing,  neither  advancing  nor 
retiring. 

HMy  darling,  why  so  frightened,  when  I  am 
here  to  protect  you  ?  Could  you  not  know  that 
I  am  ready  to  offer  my  life  for  you,  even  to  save 
your  ears  from  rude  words  ?  " 

The  gushing  old  zany  had  his  arms  outspread 
and  was  in  the  act  of  stepping  forward,  with  the 
purpose  of  throwing  them  around  the  defenseless 
fugitive,  when  a  dark  form  darted  out  from  the 
shadow  of  the  oak  which  stood  near  at  hand, 
and  sped  with  astonishing  swiftness  directly 
toward  the  Tory.  The  latter's  ears  caught  not 
the  step,  which  was  like  that  of  a  shadow ;  but 
Rosa  saw  the  figure  and  she  recognized  the 
Mohawk.  Still  she  did  not  feel  safe,  as  the  dis- 
charge of  the  weapon  and  the  shouts  had  created 
such  an  uproar  and  excitement,  that  a  dozen  men 
were  hurrying  toward  the  scene,  and  there  were 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  Ill 

dottbtless  others  who  would  appear  in  the  aoc- 
ceeding  few  minutes.  But  when  the  Mohawk 
tried  to  travel  he  knew  how  to  do  it,  and  he  was 
on  his  mettle  just  now. 

Colonel  Butler  was  in  the  middle  of  his  gushing 
harangue,  with  his  arms  upraised  and  outspread, 
ready  to  clasp  the  beautiful  figure  before  him, 
when  one  of  his  wrists  was  seized  and  he  was 
whirled  half  way  round  as  violently  as  if  smitten 
by  a  cannon-ball,  the  spinning,  top-like  movement 
bringing  him  face  to  face  with  the  Mohawk, 
whose  painted  countenance  seemed  to  be  a-gleani 
with  the  flame  of  passion. 

"Let  her  be — go  back — save  yourself— 'tis  LetM- 
Wingo  that  speaks." 

If  these  words  needed  any  additional  emphasis, 
they  were  given  in  the  shape  of  a  long  knife  that 
gleamed  in  the  moonlight.  One  of  the  many 
curious  and  apparently  contradictory  character- 
istics of  the  famous  friendly  Mohawk  was  his 
repugnance  to  shedding  the  blood  of  his  enemies. 
As  a  rule,  a  savage  does  not  wait  for  the  simplest 
kind  of  a  pretext,  but  takes  to  murder  as  a  duck 
to  water ;  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  this 
warrior  knew  that  hundreds  were  hunting  hint 
down  as  though  he  were  a  mad  dog,  this  pecol- 


112  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

iarityis  all  the  more  remarkable.  There  were 
scores  of  Tories  and  redskins  that  had  fallen  by 
his  hands,  but  in  every  case — with  an  occasional 
exception — it  was  a  clear  matter  of  self-defense  on 
his  part,  where  there  seemed  no  other  way  of 
saving  his  own  life.  There  were  one  or  two 
instances  where,  under  great  provocation,  he  had 
restrained  the  strange  impulse  of  mercy  that 
seemed  ever  present  with  him,  but  of  these  we  will 
speak  at  another  time. 

When  Red  Jack,  or  Lena-Wingo,  went  into  the 
deadly  business,  however,  there  were  no  half-way 
measures  about  it.  The  scalp  was  bound  to  come, 
and  there  were  wild  stories  told  of  the  number  of 
those  ghastly  trophies  he  had  hid  away  some- 
where in  the  mountains.  In  the  present  instance 
he  held  Colonel  Butler  at  his  mercy,  but  he  had 
not  the  remotest  intention  of  hurting  him. 

The  Tory  knew  the  terrible  redskin  before  he 
announced  his  name,  and  he  was  never  more 
scared  in  all  his  life. 

"Hello,  Red  Jack;  is  that  you?  "  he  asked  in  a 
quavering  voice,  that  he  meant  to  make  appear 
cordial.  * '  Somebody  has  alarmed  the  young  lady, 
and  I  was  about  to  protect  her  when  you  came 
up.  Do  you  want  to  take  her  in  charge  ?  " 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  113 

"I  take  her— you  go."  Then  turning  to  the 
trembling  Rosa,  the  Mohawk  added,  "Run  yon- 
der— don't  wait." 

The  fugitive  was  on  the  point  of  making  a  start 
on  her  own  account  when  this  order  was  given. 
She  therefore  bounded  off  like  a  frightened  fawn, 
urged  on  by  the  sight  of  the  rapidly  gathering 
reinforcements.  The  friendly  Mohawk  stood 
facing  about  so  as  to  cover  her  flight,  looking 
unflinchingly  upon  the  whites  and  Indians  who 
were  hurrying  to  the  spot.  Colonel  Butler,  quick 
to  discover  that  he  was  granted  freedom  of  action, 
began  edging  away  from  the  dangerous  fellow  at 
his  elbow,  feeling  anything  but  safe  so  long  as  he 
was  within  striking  distance. 

It  took  but  a  few  seconds,  inasmuch  as  Lena- 
Wingo  did  not  attempt  to  follow,  he  having  no 
purpose  of  injuring  him,  as  we  have  already 
shown.  The  moment  the  Tory  colonel  felt  safe, 
and  saw  several  of  his  own  soldiers  at  his  back, 
he  called  out,  in  the  trumpet-tones  of  battle : 

"Sieze  him!  Don't  let  him  escape!  It  is  Red 
Jack,  the  Mohawk !  Ten  pounds  to  the  man  who 
makes  him  a  prisoner! " 

Butler  had  two  objects  for  the  capture  of  the 
extraordinary  Mohawk.  In  the  first  place,  he  was 


114  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

wanted  on  general  principles,  for  the  great  injury 
he  had  done  the  royal  cause,  but  it  was  plain  that 
he  was  in  the  act  of  taking  away  the  "light of  his 
eyes "  from  Wyoming — and  that  was  like  death 
itself,  all  of  which  will  explain  the  excitement  and 
anxiety  of  the  officer  to  prevent  the  red  scout  get- 
ting away  at  this  time. 

As  he  uttered  his  command,  one  or  two  took  a 
step  toward  the  defiant  Mohawk,  who,  with  his 
drawn  knife  and  rifle>  calmly  awaited  their  com- 
ing. 

"Lena-Wingois  alone,"  he  said,  noticing  their 
hesitation.  "There  are  whites — there  are  red  men 
before  me.  Why  do  they  not  come  and  take  me  ?  " 

This  was  a  tantalizing  threat,  but  it  did  not  spur 
the  parties  addressed,  and  Butler  became  furious. 

"Are  you  all  cowards !"  he  demanded,  "that 
you  are  afraid  to  seize  a  single  man?  " 

The  soldier  standing  next  him  was  impudent 
enough  to  say : 

"If  our  colonel  will  lead  us  in  the  attack  upon 
the  Old  Scratch  himself,  we'll  follow." 

"  But  I  have  no  arms ! "  fairly  shouted  the  raging 
officer,  "or  I  would  cut  him  down! " 

The  soldier  had  seized  a  sword,  as  be  started  to 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  116 

rush  to  the  spot,  and  he  reached  it  to  his  com- 
mander. "  Here  you  are ! " 

The  weapon  was  thrust  so  unexpectedly  into  the 
hand  of  Butler  that  he  was  fairly  caught,  and, 
frightened  as  he  was,  he  strode  valiantly  toward 
the  defiant  Indian,  calling  to  his  soldiers : 

"Come  on,  you  cowards,  and  I  will  show  yoti 
your  duty ! w 

Just  then  the  Tory  turned  his  head,  expecting  to 
see  Lena-Wingo  in  full  retreat,  but,  to  his  dismay, 
the  Indian  was  actually  stealing  toward  him,  in  a 
crouching  position,  as  if  tired  of  waiting  for  the 
combat  to  open. 

It  was  more  than  Tory  flesh  and  blood  could 
stand,  and  Butler  wheeled  about,  and  stooping 
down,  as  if  to  avoid  a  descending  blow,  leaped 
back  among  his  allies,  several  of  whom  indulged 
in  a  contemptuous  laugh  at  the  exhibition.  At  the 
same  instant  Lena-Wingo  vanished. 

"We'll have  him  yet!"  exclaimed  Butler.  "Be 
has  started  for  Wilkesbarre  with  the  lady,  and  he 
shall  be  headed  off  and  shot  before  he  CAB  reach 
the  place." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

WHEN  the  redskins  saw  that  the  famous  scout 
had  fled  the  fact  gave  them  a  courage  which  they 
had  not  felt  up  to  that  time.  They  were  all  adepts 
at  trailing  a  foe,  and  they  saw,  as  if  by  instinct, 
that  the  chance  was  in  their  favor  for  outwitting 
the  dreaded  scout.  The  latter  was  incumbered 
with  the  care  of  a  young  lady,  which  must  neces- 
sarily impede  his  movements,  and  give  them  an 
opportunity  to  get  in  a  treacherous  shot  when  he 
was  unprepared  for  it.  This  was  a  purely  Indian 
business,  and  none  but  Indians  took  part  in  it. 

Colonel  Butler  gave  out  that  he  would  liberally 
reward  the  one  who  brought  him  the  scalp  of 
Lena-Wingo,  or  Red  Jack,  and  he  would  double 
the  amount  provided  the  miss  in  his  charge  was 
also  returned  to  him.  Some  six  or  eight  redskins 
started  in  pursuit  and  the  Tory  awaited  their 
return,  impatient  that  he  had  been  so  stupid  as  to 
allow  the  bird  to  slip  from  his  grasp. 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  117 

If  the  great  Mohawk  scout  was  reckless  in  his 
bravery,  he  was  also  wonderfully  skillful  and 
shrewd  with  it  all,  and  none  knew  better  than  he 
precisely  what  he  was  doing.  He  ran  a  hundred 
yards  or  more  in  his  quick,  noiseless  way,  until, 
having  reached  the  point  where  he  expected  to  find 
Rosa  Minturn,  he  paused,  and  uttered  a  slight 
whistle. 

He  had  hardly  done  so  when  his  keen  ear  caught 
a  rustling  behind  him,  and  he  turned  like  a  flash, 
ready  for  friend  or  foe. 

"Is  it  you,  Jack? "  was  asked  in  a  soft  whisper. 

' '  It  is  Jack, ' '  was  the  answer,  in  the  same  guarded 
manner. 

"I  was  afraid  you  were  in  trouble." 

The  Mohawk  replied  with  a  grin,  invisible  in 
the  gloom. 

"Are  we  ready  to  go  on?"  continued  the  fair 
fugitive. 

"Yes,  we  go  on.  Follow  me — keep  close — don't 
make  noise." 

Rosa  walked  as  carefully  as  she  could,  but  it 
was  impossible  to  imitate  her  leader,  who  seemed 
to  possess  the  power  of  making  his  way  through 
the  forest  without  a  particle  of  noise.  As  he  raised 
and  put  down  his  moccasin,  the  girl  could  not 


118  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

detect  the  faintest  possible  rustle,  nor  was  any- 
thing of  the  kind  noticeable  when  he  parted  the 
l«tshes  in  his  path. 

They  were  now  in  the  wilderness,  for  the  Wyo- 
ming valley,  a  century  ago,  might  have  been  called 
a  wilderness  as  a  whole,  compared  with  its  condi- 
tion to-day. 

The  Mohawk  knew  he  would  be  followed  by  half 
a  dozen  of  the  most  experienced  and  skillful  war- 
riors of  his  own  tribe ;  but  he  cared  nothing  for 
that.  It  would  not  be  the  first  time,  by  long  odds, 
and  he  rather  welcomed  the  thing,  as  likely  to  pre- 
vent the  flight  from  becoming  monotonous. 

But  the  sly  fellow  said  nothing  of  the  kind  to  his 
companion,  for  he  did  not  think  she  was  likely  to 
Agree  with  him,  and  she  might  well  question  his 
prudence.  The  only  evidence  that  Jack  gave  of 
fears  of  pursuit  consisted  in  his  occasionally  stop- 
ping and  standing  as  motionless  as  a  rock,  while 
Rosa  could  barely  make  out  in  the  night  that  his 
face  was  turned,  and  he  was  looking  over  her  head 
back  into  the  gloom,  depending  more  upon  his 
wonderful  power  of  hearing  than  anything  else. 

Rosa  listened,  too,  as  best  she  could,  but  the 
srflenee  of  the  tomb  to  her  was  not  more  profound. 
A.  few  minutes  before,  all  was  excitenient  and 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  119 


uproar  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  but  ther* 
nothing  now  to  show  that  any  one  living  person 
was  within  miles  of  where  the  two  were  standing. 
The  curdling  sounds  of  rapine  and  murder — tlie 
war-whoop  of  the  redskins  and  the  shouts  of  Ifce 
no  less  bloody  Tories— these  had  died  out  for  tlie 
time,  and  were  heard  no  more.  But,  for  all  that, 
the  minions  of  the  night  were  abroad,  stealing 
like  so  many  panthers  approaching  their  p*ty. 
They  were  groping  here  and  there  through  tbe 
wood,  listening  for  some  evidence  of  the  precise 
whereabouts  of  the  Mohawk  who  had  dared  ta 
defy  them  to  do  their  worst. 

Every  time  the  guide  paused  he  raised  his  hand 
as  a  warning  to  Rosa  that  she  must  not  attempt 
to  speak,  and  she  knew  too  much  what  the  dan- 
ger of  disobeying  the  command  might  lead  to,  to 
forget  the  warning.  All  the  sound  she  heard  was 
the  throbbing  of  her  own  heart,  which  she  was  stwe 
must  attract  the  notice  of  Jack,  standing  at  Her 
side,  though  he  also  refrained  from  opening  hie 
mouth. 

The  second  time  they  paused  in  this  manner,  the 
silence  to  Rosa  was  as  profound  as  at  first,  but  the 
action  of  the  Mohawk  showed  he  had  detected 
something  suspicious ;  for  he  silently  reached  o«t 


120  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

his  hand  and  took  hers,  accompanying  the  move- 
ment with  a  soft  "  'Sh !  "  which  checked  the  query 
that  was  already  on  her  lips.  Holding  her  hand  in 
his  own,  he  turned  off  at  almost  a  right  angle  to 
the  course  they  had  been  following  up  to  that 
moment.  The  turn  was  to  the  right  and  was  fol- 
lowed but  a  few  seconds  until  it  brought  them  to 
the  edge  of  the  river. 

The  broad  Susquehanna  was  flowing  calmly  and 
smoothly  in  the  faint  moonlight,  as  though  it  had 
not  witnessed  the  dreadful  scenes  that  had  taken 
place  on  its  banks  but  a  short  time  before.  The 
stillness  continued  unbroken,  but  Jack  was  listen- 
ing in  the  close,  attentive  way  that  showed  he  was 
expecting  something.  Nor  was  he  disappointed ; 
for  within  the  next  five  minutes  the  sound  of  a 
paddle  was  heard  so  distinctly  that  his  fair  com- 
panion  noticed  it  and  turned  to  her  guide  as  if  to 
ask,  by  her  manner,  whether  he  had  caught  it. 

There  could  be  no  failure  on  his  part,  and  when 
she  turned  he  repeated  his  "'Sh!"  to  prevent  her 
speaking.  At  the  same  time  he  drew  her  back  a 
few  feet  further  from  the  water  and  placed  himself 
between  it  and  her.  Both  held  these  same  positions 
for  a  few  minutes  longer,  and  then  Rosa,  who  was 
listening  and  looking  -with  all  the  ears  and  eyes 


THE   RIVBR   FUGITIVES.  121 

she  had,  again  caught  the  sound  of  a  paddle  in  the 
water.  Jack  instantly  recoiled,  and  extending  his 
long,  bony  arm  toward  the  river,  whispered : 

"Look." 

Dimly  visible  was  a  canoe,  in  which  several 
Indians  were  seated,  while  one  of  them  plied  the 
single  paddle  with  such  care  that,  had  not  the  two 
been  listening,  they  would  have  heard  nothing  of 
it.  The  meaning  of  the  whole  thing  was  so  plain 
that  Rosa  read  it  without  any  help  from  her  saga- 
cious companion.  Their  pursuers,  believing  they 
were  making  for  Wilkesbarre,  had  sent  a  number 
of  scouts  across  to  head  them  off,  leaving,  of 
course,  enough  on  his  side  to  prosecute  the  search 
unremittingly.  The  two  stood  and  watched  the 
boat  with  its  suggestive  occupants  until  it  grad- 
ually faded  out  in  the  gloom  of  the  night,  when 
they  relaxed  their  position  of  intense  attention. 

"Now  we  go  up  river,"  said  he,  breaking  the 
quiet  for  the  first  time  since  starting  fairly  upon 
their  flight. 

"Where  to?"  she  asked,  glad,  like  all  her  sex, 
to  avail  herself  of  the  chance  to  use  her  tongue. 

"A  little  way,"  was  the  rather  vague  answer. 
"Tread  light— walk  still— make  no  noise —like 
lack." 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVE*. 

"Ill  do  my  best,  but  I  can't  do  as  well  as  you, 
and  you  know  it,  Jack,  and  I  don't  believe  any 
one  else  can  do  so  either." 

-Try." 

They  advanced  with  great  caution,  for  there 
was  every  reason  to  believe  a  number  of  their  ene- 
mies were  close  at  hand,  and  a  single  inadvertence 
aright  betray  them. 

It  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  Mohawk  to  cross 
the  river  for  some  time  yet,  and  he  cautiously 
poshed  on,  making  unimportant  progress  until 
the  gray  light  in  the  east  told  of  the  coming  day. 
JL  halt  was  then  made,  and  they  waited  where 
they  were  for  all  of  an  hour,  when  they  pressed 
stealthily  forward  a  short  distance  further.  Before 
they  could  go  beyond,  they  became  the  unwilling 
witnesses  of  a  scene  so  appalling  that  even  Lena- 
Wtngo,  the  Mohawk,  who  had  looked  upon  every 
imaginable  atrocity,  was  shocked. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

QUEEN    ESTHER. 

TETB  Mohawk  and  Rosa  paused  amid  the  dense 
undergrowth,  and  the  red  scout  softly  parted 
it  in  his  front  and  peered  through.  The  girl 
was  several  feet  behind  him  and  she  did  not  dare 
to  approach  without  permission,  although  her 
curiosity  was  great,  for  she  was  assured  by  his 
manner  that  he  had  discovered  something  of 
importance  to  both  of  them. 

For  the  space  of  five  minutes,  perhaps,  the 
Indian  did  not  stir  a  muscle;  but,  during  this 
time,  the  girl  heard  sounds  beyond  them.  There 
were  confused  voices,— those,  no  doubt,  of  their 
enemies, — and  some  sort  of  a  busy  scene  was  going 
on  directly  before  the  eyes  of  the  watcher.  By 
and  by  Lena-Wingo  turned  his  head,  so  that  he 
faced  the  girl  who  was  watching  him  so  closely, 
and  silently  beckoned  to  her.  Rosa  was  at  his 
side  next  minute,  crouching  like  one  who  knew 
the  need  of  the  utmost  caution. 

123 


124  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

"  Make  no  noise, "  -whispered  her  friend.  "  Watch 
much — won't  hurt." 

The  scene  that  Rosa  gazed  upon  she  remembered 
to  her  dying  day.  If  Lena-Wingo  could  have 
comprehended  the  sensations  that  were  produced 
upon  the  fair  fugitive  by  the  sight,  he  would  never 
have  permitted  it;  but  he  was  an  Indian,  and 
could  not  be  expected  to  comprehend  such  things. 

On  the  brow  of  a  high  steep  bank,  which,  no 
doubt  was  the  ancient  shore  of  the  Susquehanna, 
is  a  boulder,  rising  about  a  foot  and  a  half  from 
the  ground.  It  is  a  sort  of  conglomerate,  com- 
posed principally  of  quartz,  and  is  still  an  object 
of  great  interest  to  tourists.  Gathered  around 
this  rock  were  sixteen  white  men,  who  had  been 
taken  prisoners  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming  and 
were  doomed  to  die  by  the  hand  of  a  single 
woman.  This  woman  was  Catherine  Montour, 
better  known,  perhaps,  as  Queen  Esther,  for  whom 
the  rock  referred  to  is  named. 

This  extraordinary  creature  was  a  half  breed 
who  had  been  well  educated  in  Canada,  and  she 
was  a  favorite  with  the  best  society  in  Philadel- 
phia before  the  Revolution.  And  yet,  in  that  fair 
bosom  ibeat  a  heart  as  fiendish  as  that  of  any  of 
the  Tories  or  redskins.  She  followed  in  the  train 


THB   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  125 

of  the  invading  army  that  entered  Wyoming,  and 
committed  atrocities  that  are  incredible.  These 
were  mainly  done,  it  is  said,  in  revenge  for  the 
loss  of  a  son  who  was  shot  by  a  scouting  party 
a  few  days  before.  But  there  are  other  well 
established  tales  of  this  Hecate,  which  can  be 
explained  on  no  other  ground  than  absolute  fiend- 
ishness  of  heart,  that  found  its  supremest  delight 
in  witnessing  the  torture  of  a  fellow  creature,  if 
she  could  only  be  sure  that  in  his  veins  flowed  the 
blood  such  as  was  partly  in  her  own. 

Queen  Esther,  by  virtue  of  her  office  among  the 
Iroquois,  where  she  was  looked  upon  as  a  verita- 
ble queen,— she  occupying  a  palace,  as  it  was 
called,  at  the  head  of  Seneca  lake,  where  the 
town  itself  was  named  Catherine  in  her  honor, — 
assumed  the  office  of  executioner.  The  sixteen 
white  men  who  had  been  taken  at  the  massacre 
were  arranged  around  this  rock.  They  were  all 
placed  under  the  charge  of  a  strong  guard  of 
Indians,  whose  business  it  was  to  place  the  victims 
in  position  to  receive  the  finishing  stroke  from  the 
feminine  iury.  At  the  moment  Rosa  Minturn 
gazed  out  from  her  hiding  place  beside  the  friendly 
Mohawk,  three  men  had  already  fallen  by  the 
death  maul  and  hatchet  of  Queen  Esther. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

The  sixteen  prisoners  were  first  stood  tip  in  a 
row,  within  a  rod  or  so  from  the  boulder,  which 
they  faced,  so  that  they  saw  all  that  passed. 
When  the  queen  was  ready,  the  first  man  was  led 
forward,  and  seated  on  the  rock,  still  guarded  by 
a  strong  force  of  Indians,  who  were  guarding 
against  any  attempt  to  escape.  The  woman,  as 
soon  as  the  victim  was  ready,  took  her  station 
directly  in  front,  and,  chanting  a  low  monotone 
that  sounded  like  the  humming  of  the  gale 
through  the  cordage  of  a  vessel  at  sea,  she  sank 
the  hatchet,  with  one  sweep,  in  the  brain  of  the 
man  before  her,  chanting  her  dirge,  or  death-song 
the  while. 

The  whites  seemed  stupefied  and  helpless  as  by 
a  spell  of  horror,  which  rendered  them  incapable 
of  resistance.  When  one  of  them  was  conducted 
forward,  he  walked  as  meekly  as  a  lamb,  and  sat 
down,  never  stirring  after  the  warrior  stepped 
back  so  as  to  allow  the  queen  the  room  she 
wanted.  Sometimes  the  white  man  looked  up 
into  the  face  of  his  executioner  without  raising 
his  unbound  hands;  sometimes  he  made  an 
instinctive  attempt  to  ward  off  the  blow.  Again, 
if  the  victim  happened  to  be  gazing  downward  at 
the  time  he  was  placed  in  position,  he  generally 


THB   RIVBR    FUGITIVES.  127 

continued  in  that  posture  until  the  fatal  blow  bad 
descended.  One  sweep  of  that  swift  arm  -was 
generally  sufficient,  the  keen  edged  tomahawk 
sinking  into  the  skull  as  if  driven  into  the  yielding 
earth  itself.  As  soon  as  the  blow  was  given,  the 
man,  as  a  rule,  sagged  heavily  downward  and 
rolled  off  the  rock,  and  was  dragged  out  of  the 
way  to  make  room  for  the  next  victim. 

The  first  glance  that  Rosa  Minturn  obtained  of 
this  scene  showed  that  three  victims  had  already 
fallen  and  that  the  fourth  was  being  led  forward. 
The  girl  recognized  him  as  one  of  her  nearest 
neighbors,  and  there  was  a  certain  bravery  and 
stoicism  in  the  action  of  the  man  that  at  any 
other  time  would  have  won  the  admiration  of  the 
Indians  themselves.  The  two  who  had  him  in 
charge  stopped  at  his  side  as  if  they  intended  to  hold 
him  in  place;  but  his  lips  were  seen  to  move  as  if  he 
said  something,  probably  of  protest,  that  they 
seemed  to  understand.  They  looked  into  each 
other's  faces,  as  if  consulting,  and  then  stepped 
back  and  left  him  alone  upon  the  rock,  with  the 
avenging  fury  standing  before  him,  tomahawk  in 
hand,  waiting  until  all  was  ready  before  she  struck 
the  blow. 


128  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

There  was  no  shrinking  or  trembling  there. 
The  patriot  stretched  out  his  legs  as  coolly  as  if 
seated  in  the  old  tavern  at  Stroudsburg,  and 
threw  one  foot  over  the  other,  just  as  if  he  were 
composing  himself  to  tell  some  story  to  a  crowd 
of  gossips.  Then  he  folded  his  arms  in  the  same 
deliberate  fashion  and  turned  his  head  to  one 
side  and  looked  up  into  the  face  of  the  Indian 
queen,  as  if  to  ask  why  she  was  delaying  the 
funeral.  His  lips  were  seen  to  move  again  by  the 
watchers,  although  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
hear  what  the  words  were.  The  queen  heard 
them,  however,  and  paused  a  moment  in  the  dis- 
mal chanting  of  her  dirge,  looking  down  at  the 
face  turned  unflinchingly  up  to  her  own.  For  one 
second  this  tableau  impressed  itself  upon  the 
vision  of  the  observers.  The  dozen  men  standing 
in  a  row,  stolid,  despairing  and  woe-smitten, 
guarded  by  twice  as  many  armed  Indians;  the 
painted  warriors  gathered  around  and  looking 
upon  the  execution;  the  victim  seated  on  the 
broad  rock;  the  Indian  queen  standing  directly 
in  front,  with  uplifted  hatchet,  poised  and  ready 
to  strike — all  this  formed  a  picture  which  no  per- 
son, fortunately,  is  called  upon  to  view  twice  in  a 
lifetime.  But  it  lasted  only  a  moment.  The 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES,  129 

death-song  that  had  been  suspended  for  the 
instant,  was  resumed.  The  upraised  tomahawk 
was  seen  to  flash  for  a  second  as  it  was  whirled 
over  the  head  of  the  raging  fury,  and  good, 
honest,  brave  Elijah  Hapegood,  rolled  over  and 
off  the  stone,  his  skull  cloven  in  twain. 


CHAPTER  XYH. 

A   STRUGGLE   FOR    LIFB. 

THUS  the  awful  tragedy  went  on  until  eleven 
men  had  fallen  before  the  hatchet  of  Esther, 
Queen  of  the  Iroquois.  The  twelfth  man  was  one 
named  Hammond,  who  was  placed  upon  the  rock 
to  receive  his  death  blow. 

Among  the  very  few  awaiting  their  turn  was  a 
brother  of  this  victim,  named  Lebbeus,  who  was 
standing  near  a  friend  named  Joseph  Elliott,  the  two 
being  noted  for  their  great  fleetness  of  foot.  Every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  the  scene,  the  Indian  jailers 
apprehending  no  attempt  to  get  away,  as  the 
tragedy  was  nearly  over  and  no  effort  at  escape 
had  been  made  as  yet.  When  Hammond  saw  his 
brother  placed  upon  the  rock,  and  the  savage 
queen  preparing  to  strike  the  blow,  he  said  in  a 
low  voice  to  Elliott,  who  was  standing  close  by 
his  side: 

"Let's  try  h." 

"All  right  I  Go  ahead!" 

130 


THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  131 

Both  bounded  away  at  the  same  instant,  the 
suddenness  of  the  movement  freeing  them  from 
their  captors  without  a  struggle.  It  was  the 
belief  of  both  the  fugitives  that  they  would  be 
shot  dead  while  running,  and  they  preferred  such 
a  death  to  that  which  their  companions  had  suf- 
fered, or  were  doomed  still  to  suffer.  But  the  des- 
perate bound  that  they  made  was  so  unexpected 
to  the  Indians,  that,  for  the  few  succeeding  min- 
utes— valuable  beyond  price  to  Hammond  and 
Elliott — no  gun  was  fired,  the  redskins  simply 
trusting  to  their  legs  to  overtake  the  fleeing 
whites. 

Hammond  was  greatly  surprised  that  no  shot 
was  sent  after  them,  but  concluded  that  the 
Indians  believed  in  their  own  superior  fleetness  so 
well  that  they  did  not  think  there  was  any  doubt 
of  the  recapture  of  the  fugitives.  The  latter  had 
run  but  a  short  distance  when  they  were  wise 
enough  to  separate,  there  being  a  better  chance  in 
doing  this  than  in  staying  together. 

Both  ran  like  deer,  and  the  pursuers  did  not  seem 
to  notice  that  they  were  gradually  veering  away 
from  each  other.  Hammond  headed  up-stream, 
but  had  run  only  a  short  distance  when  he  looked 
over  his  shoulder  and  saw  the  redskins  were  shap- 


182  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

ing  their  course  with  the  expectation  of  shutting 
off  the  fugitives  before  they  could  reach  Forty 
Fort.  This  was  favorable,  as  it  showed  that  the 
Indians,  discovering  the  fleetness  of  the  two  white 
men,  had  thrown  up  the  direct  pursuit,  and,  feel- 
ing certain  that  the  fugitives  were  aiming  to  make 
the  fort,  the  redskins  started  to  "cut  across  lots/' 
and  capture  them  in  that  way. 

The  instant  Hammond  detected  their  plan  he 
headed  still  more  directly  up-stream,  and,  spurred 
on  by  the  belief  that  there  was  a  chance  for  life, 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost,  and  ran  with  aston- 
ishing swiftness.  While  going  at  this  furious  gait, 
his  toe  caught  in  a  vine,  and  he  went  forward  on 
his  hands ;  and  so  great  was  his  speed,  that  he 
rolled  over  and  over  before  he  could  check  himself. 
When  at  last  he  did  come  to  a  full  stop,  he  found 
he  had  been  plunged,  head  first,  into  the  dense  top 
of  a  fallen  tree,  where  he  was  so  well  hidden  that 
he  concluded  to  stay  there,  for  the  time  being  at 
least. 

He  had  lain  but  a  few  minutes,  when  the  Indians 
who  had  run  to  head  off  the  return  to  the  fort 
missed  the  fugitives  and  entered  the  woods  to  look 
for  them.  Hammond  heard  their  stealthy  foot- 
steps near  him  and  he  was  in  despair.  His  violent 


THE   KIVBK    FUGITIVES.  133 

exercise  caused  such  a  beating  of  the  heart  and 
hastening  of  the  breath,  that  he  was  sure  he  would 
be  betrayed  by  that  means.  No  one  can  imagine 
his  feelings  as  he  detected  the  soft  tread  of  the 
moccasins  passing  near  him,  and  now  and  then 
caught  a  glimpse  of  forms  through  the  interstices 
of  the  leaves.  To  top  it  all,  one  of  the  Indians  act' 
ually  drew  the  bushes  aside  almost  directly  over 
his  head,  but  the  twilight  that  reigned  in  such 
dense  shadow  prevented  the  fugitive  being  seen, 
and  a  moment  afterward  he  went  away. 

Hammond  did  not  dare  to  stir  from  his  hiding- 
place  until  all  was  still.  Then  he  stole  cautiously 
out  and  made  his  way  to  the  river,  which  he  swam 
to  Monacacy  island,  where  he  paused  to  rest  a  few 
minutes,  but  he  was  afraid  to  remain  there,  as  he 
knew  it  had  been  used  already  to  such  an  extent 
by  the  fugitives  that  he  would  not  be  safe.  Accord- 
ingly, he  entered  the  water  again,  with  great  care, 
and  swam  to  the  other  shore.  There  he  felt  quite 
secure,  but  he  continued  his  flight  until  he  reached 
Wilkesbarre,  where  he  was  safe  against  further 
molestation  from  his  vengeful  enemies. 

Matters  had  been  more  lively,  if  possible,  with 
Elliott,  who  made  his  daring  attempt  to  escape  at 


134  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

the  same  time.  The  latter  was  fully  as  fleet  of  foot 
as  his  friend,  and,  like  him,  discovered  that  the 
redskins  were  seeking  to  cutoff  his  return  to  Forty 
Fort.  He,  too,  shaped  his  course  for  the  river, 
aiming,  however,  for  a  point  so  far  removed  from 
the  destination  of  Hammond  that  they  failed  to 
see  each  other  while  pursuing  their  flight. 

When  Elliott  struck  the  Susquehanna,  it  was 
below  Monacacy,  and  he  swam  out  to  the  bar  on 
the  lower  portion.  It  was  his  purpose,  as  the  dis- 
tance was  quite  short,  and  he  was  an  excellent 
swimmer,  to  make  the  whole  way  under  the  sur- 
face, and  when  he  calculated  that  he  had 
gone  far  enough,  he  came  up,  with  his  head  well 
out,  but  found  he  was  still  considerably  short. 
The  Indians  had  not  lost  sight  of  him  either,  as  he 
discovered  the  next  minute,  when  the  sharp  crack 
of  several  rifles  sounded  on  his  ear,  and  a  twinge 
in  the  shoulder  made  him  aware  that  he  was 
wounded. 

For  a  minute  or  two  he  believed  it  was  all  up 
with  him,  and  that  he  was  doomed  to  die;  but  the 
recollection  of  the  scene  from  which  he  had  fled 
nerved  him  to  another  desperate  effort,  and,  by  an 
almost  superhuman  endurance,  he  succeeded  in 


THB    KIYBR    FUGITIVES.  135 

reaching  the  eastern  shore,  with  the  width  of  the 
Susquehanna  between  him  and  his  enemies  for  the 
time.  Elliott  deserved  good  fortune  for  what  he 
had  attempted,  and  it  came  to  him.  While  he  was 
wondering  how  he  was  to  get  along  with  his  pain- 
ful and  bleeding  shoulder,  he  discovered  a  horse 
quietly  grazing  near  at  hand. 

"Thank  heaven!"  he  exclaimed.  "If  I  can 
catch  him,  I  am  saved ! " 

The  animal  showed  no  fear  when  he  approached 
it,  and  in  a  few  minutes  he  had  his  hand  upon  his 
mane.  But  there  was  neither  bridle  nor  saddle, 
and  he  could  not  get  along  very  well  without  the 
former,  with  which  to  guide  the  steed.  As  the 
best  thing  that  could  be  done,  he  stripped  the 
bark  from  a  hickory-sapling,  and  from  this  made 
?  rein  that  answered  very  well.  The  absence  of 
the  saddle  was  a  small  matter,  and  once  upon 
the  back  of  the  beast,  he  headed  him  toward 
Wilkesbarre,  and  compelled  him  to  do  his  best. 

The  fort  was  reached  in  safety,  and  a  short 
while  afterward  Hammond  came  in  and  greeted 
him.  The  surgeon  at  the  fort  dressed  the  wounded 
shoulder,  and  the  next  morning  Elliott  made  his 
way  to  Catawissa,  with  his  wife  and  child,  in  a 


186  THE    RIYBR    FUGITIVES. 

canoe,  managed  by  a  lad.  There  he  was  well 
taken  care  of,  and  he  and  Hammond  lived  many 
years  afterward  to  tell  their  children  of  their 
wonderful  escape  from  the  fury  of  Queen  Esther.* 

•The  incident  described  above  is  simply  a  fact  and  nothing 
more.  The  two  men  there  named — Lebbeus  Hammond  and  Joseph 
Blliott  —  as  is  stated,  lived  a  number  of  years  after.  There  is  a 
possible  variation  in  the  exact  time  of  the  incident,  as  given  by 
the  writer. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  LABYRINTH  OF  PERIU 

WHAT  more  dreadful  scene  for  man  or  woman 
to  look  upon  than  the  one  we  have  attempted  to 
describe?  Poor  Rosa  Minturn  was  held  to  the 
spot,  transfixed  by  a  strange  fascination  that 
comes  over  the  strongest  man,  when  confronted  by 
some  dread  for  which  he  has  had  no  time  to  make 
preparation.  Even  the  iron-hearted  Mohawk, 
Lena-Wingo,  who  had  looked  upon  and  faced  by 
himself  all  the  known  barbarities  of  war,  was 
scarcely  less  impressed  by  the  sight  of  Queen 
Esther's  fury,  and  he  neither  moved  nor  spoke  for 
several  minutes. 

Strangely  enough,  it  was  Rosa  herself  who  first 
recovered  from  the  stupefying  spell  that  held  her 
faculties  bound  for  the  time.  With  a  mournful 
sigh,  like  that  of  the  victim  who  manages  to 
shake  off  the  subtle  power  the  rattle-snake  some- 
times weaves  around  him,  she  rallied,  and  com- 
prehended her  situation.  What  was  to  prevent 
some  of  those  Indians  from  coming  in  the  direc- 

137 


138  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

tion  where  she  and  her  guide  were  so  imperfectly 
concealed?  And  what  possible  escape  could 
there  be,  in  such  an  event,  from  the  fury  of  the 
Hecate? 

Such  were  the  questions  that  the  brave  girl  put 
to  herself,  and  she  knew,  too,  that  nothing  could 
please  Catharine  Montour  and  her  red  allies  more 
than  to  cause  these  two  fugitives  to  take  the  place 
of  the  couple  that  had  fled.  But  whether  such  was 
the  fact  or  not,  she  felt  that  she  could  no  longer 
gaze  upon  the  shocking  scene.  At  the  risk,  there- 
fore, of  offending  Lena-Wingo,  she  reached  out 
her  hand  and  gently  touched  his  arm.  He  started 
and  looked  into  her  pale  face. 

"Come,"  said  she  in  a  whisper;  "don't  let  us 
stay  here  any  longer !  " 

"No,  no,"  he  answered  in  a  strange,  startled 
way;  " 'tis  bad— make  girl  feel  bad— Lena-Wingo 
bad  man— bring  you  here— he  sorry— we  go  way 
— 'Sh! — make  no  noise." 

The  two  were  themselves  again,  and  they  began 
their  retrograde  movement  in  the  same  stealthy 
manner  that  they  had  advanced  to  the  spot.  The 
confusion  resulting  from  the  flight  of  Hammond 
and  Elliott  was  at  its  height  just  then,  and  as  the 
greater  part  of  the  Indians  had  dashed  off  in 


THB   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  139 

pursuit,  there  was  danger  that  some  of  them 
might  come  upon  these  two,  who  were  striving  so 
carefully  to  leave  the  perilous  neighborhood. 

None  could  know  this  better  than  the  Mohawk 
himself,  and  he  threaded  his  way  with  as  much 
pains  and  stealth  as  if  he  were  entering  a  camp  of 
his  enemies  who  were  watching  for  his  coming. 
He  kept  his  fair  companion  as  close  to  him  as 
possible,  and  at  every  step  or  two  he  paused,  and 
looked  around,  showing  by  his  manner  that  he 
felt  the  danger  was  as  likely  to  come  from  one 
direction  as  another.  Nor  was  a  whit  of  this 
extraordinary  precaution  thrown  away.  Indeed, 
nothing  else  could  have  saved  them ;  for,  without 
intending  to  do  so,  the  Mohawk  had  led  his 
gentle  friend  into  a  labyrinth  of  peril  which  he 
regretted  on  her  account. 

They  had  advanced  less  than  a  hundred  feet  from 
the  last  starting  point,  and  the  guide  had  paused 
again,  as  was  his  practice,  when  his  keen  ear 
detected  the  approach  of  something  before  Rosa 
herself  could  know  it.  With  his  warning  "  'Sh! " 
he  stooped  down  as  low  as  possible,  and  looked 
around  with  a  slight  nod  of  his  head  for  her  to  do 
the  same.  The  girl  did  so  on  the  instant,  and  the 
cracking  of  a  twig  at  that  moment  told  her  the 


140  THB   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

meaning  of  the  precaution.  She  glanced  toward  the 
point  from  which  came  the  suspicious  sound,  and 
seeing  nothing,  looked  again  at  the  Mohawk. 

He  had  gathered  his  feet  under  him,  so  that,  if 
necessary,  he  could  make  a  bound,  without  rising 
to  a  standing  posture,  and  his  hand  rested  on  his 
knife  in  a  way  that  was  suggestive.  The  Indian 
was  at  bay,  and  he  was  as  cool,  too,  as  if  seated 
by  his  own  camp-fire  in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 
There  was  a  peculiar  gleam  in  his  black  eye,  and 
he  looked  very  much  like  a  man  whom  it  would  be 
dangerous  to  disturb.  But  the  stealthy  footstep 
drew  steadily  nearer  and  nearer,  until  discovery 
was  inevitable. 

The  sound  showed  that  the  enemy  was  closer  to 
Rosa  than  to  Lena-Wingo.  Unpleasant  as  was 
this  discovery,  the  girl  did  not  dare  to  change  her 
position,  as  the  slightest  movement  was  likely  to 
betray  them.  But,  if  she  was  aware  of  the  prox- 
imity of  her  enemy,  so  was  her  companion,  who 
was  there  to  protect  her,  and  he  was  ready  to  do 
it  with  his  life,  at  all  times.  He  had  his  keen  eye 
trpon  the  point  from  which  came  the  gentle  rustling, 
and  he  was  not  to  be  taken  off  his  guard. 

Rosa  Minturn  was  gazing  in  her  fixed  manner, 
when  she  caught  sight  of  an  object,  the  meaning 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  141 


of  which  she  did  not  understand.  It  was  on 
ground,  among  the  leaves,  and  not  more  than  ten 
feet  from  where  she  was  crouching  in  terror  from 
the  Indian  drawing  steadily  nearer  each  second. 
Her  first  supposition  was  that  it  was  the  head  of 
some  serpent  gliding  over  the  leaves  ;  and  as  it 
was  coming  toward  her,  she  turned  to  Lena- 
Wingo  and  silently  pointed  at  it,  as  if  to  ask 
him  what  should  be  done.  The  Mohawk  nodded 
his  head,  but  did  not  open  his  lips.  He  meant  to 
say  that  he  saw  it,  and  would  attend  to  whatever 
it  might  do. 

When  he  nodded  his  head,  he  supposed  that  it 
was  also  understood  by  the  young  girl,  though  it 
was  not.  The  object,  as  it  appeared  to  her,  was 
composed  of  several  sharp  glittering  points  that 
sparkled  in  the  dim  light  of  the  shade  as  if  they 
were  jewels,  or,  what  seemed  more  likely,  the  eyes 
of  some  kind  of  reptile.  The  thing  —  whatever  it 
was  —  whisked  into  view,  remained  silent  a  minute, 
and  then  vanished,  only  to  reappear  as  abruptly 
as  before.  When  it  came  in  sight  the  last  time  it 
was  closer  than  before,  and  was  so  distinctly 
shown  that  the  frightened  girl  recognized  it. 

It  was  the  fore-part  of  an  Indian  moccasin! 
The  action  of  the  foot-gear  proved  still  further 


143  THB    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

that  it  covered  the  pedal  extremity  of  a  warrior, 
who  was  picking  his  way  with  such  extreme  care 
as  to  show  that  he  knew  he  was  almost  in  the 
presence  of  some  enemy.  Most  probably,  he 
thought  he  had  come,  or,  rather,  was  coming, 
upon  the  lurking-place  of  one  of  the  fugitives  that 
had  made  the  desperate  flight  from  the  bloody 
rock  of  Queen  Esther.  He  was,  therefore,  moving 
here  and  there,  until  he  could  determine  the  pre- 
cise point  where  the  patriot  was  in  hiding,  natu- 
rally seeking,  at  the  same  time,  to  keep  his  own 
movements  from  the  knowledge  of  the  fugitive 
himself.  Screening  his  body  in  this  careful  man- 
ner, he  exposed  a  few  inches  of  his  moccasin,  with- 
out knowing  that  by  that  means  he  revealed  his 
position  as  well  to  the  watchful  Lena-Wingo  as  if 
there  were  no  intervening  bushes  to  hide  the  rest 
of  his  person  from  view. 

For  perhaps  a  dozen  seconds,  nothing  but  this 
tell-tale  motion  of  the  beaded  work  showed  itself. 
The  Indian  was  using  eyes  and  ears,  looking 
here  and  there  with  the  sharpness  of  a  veteran  of 
the  woods,  while  he  listened  intently  that  the  fall- 
ing of  a  leaf  would  have  been  heard  by  him.  But 
nothing  was  seen  or  heard  by  the  enemy  that  could 
add  anything  to  what  he  already  knew.  It  was 


THE   RIYBR   FUGITIVES.  1*3 

necessary,  therefore,  that  he  should  make  another 
slight  change  of  position.  Without  stirring  either 
foot,  he  bent  his  body  forward,  and  pulled  the 
bushes  apart. 

Rosa  Minturn,  happening  to  turn  her  head  at 
the  same  moment,  warned  by  a  subtle  instinct  of 
danger,  saw  the  painted  face  of  a  Seneca  warrior 
within  arm's  length  of  her  own. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

AN  ENEMY  AND  YET  A  FRIEND. 

THE  sight  of  the  painted  countenance  of  a  Sen- 
warrior,  suddenly  thrust  through  the  parted 
bushes  within  a  foot  or  two  of  her  fair  face,  was 
a  shock  to  Rosa  Minturn,  but  she  did  not  scream 
or  make  any  outcry  that  might  have  revealed  their 
situation  to  other  enemies  who  were  within  a 
short  distance.  With  a  slight  gasp  that  could  not 
have  been  heard  more  than  a  rod  away,  she  placed 
her  hands  over  her  face  and  threw  her  head  for- 
ward toward  Lena-Wingo,  appealing  to  him  to 
save  her  from  the  fury  of  the  redskin  who  had  dis- 
covered her.  She  was  sure  that  the  next  minute 
the  two  Indians  would  be  closed  in  deadly  encoun- 
ter; but,  to  her  amazement,  several  seconds 
passed.  During  that  time — seemingly  much  longer 
than  it  really  was — neither  the  Mohawk  nor  the 
Seneca  stirred  a  muscle!  When  the  suspense 
became  unbearable,  Rosa  turned  her  head  to  learn 
what  it  all  meant. 

144 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  145 

A  strange  spectacle  met  her  eye.  The  two  red- 
skins, representing  the  extreme  of  sentiment 
among  their  own  race,  were  looking  in  each  other's 
face,  and  making  some  sort  of  signs  with  their 
fingers.  And,  furthermore,  the  first  glance  of  Rosa 
told  her  the  astonishing  fact  that  there  was  no 
anger  in  the  eyes  that  encountered  each  other  in 
the  wood  on  that  summer  morning.  No ;  Lena- 
Wingo,  representing  the  white  race,  as  may  be 
said,  and  the  Seneca,  fresh  from  the  scene  of  one 
of  the  most  inhuman  massacres  of  the  patriots, 
with  his  passions  inflamed  by  what  he  witnessed 
and  at  which  he  helped,  were  face  to  face.  It 
would  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  deadliest 
kind  of  a  fight  would  instantly  follow,  but  they 
were  as  gentle  as  two  cooing  doves. 

We  have  said  in  another  place  that  Lena- Wingo 
had  kis  friends  among  his  own  race — warriors 
who  would  befriend  him  stealthily— scarcely 
aware  that  there  were  any  except  themselves  so 
disposed  toward  him.  These  redskins  would 
assist  him  when  it  could  be  done  without  risk  to 
themselves,  but  in  the  presence  of  others  there 
were  no  more  savage  foes  than  they. 

When  Rosa  raised  her  head  the  Seneca  seemed 

to  feel  that  he  was  running  more  risk  than  was 
10 


THB    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

prudent  by  allowing  his  countenance  to  be  seen 
at  such  a  time  by  a  third  party,  who  might  have 
some  future  chance  of  giving  evidence  against 
him.  Accordingly,  he  withdrew  his  face,  vanishing 
so  suddenly,  and  apparently  in  such  trepidation, 
that  to  any  one  who  understood  the  situation 
the  scene  could  not  but  be  amusing. 

Rosa  was  quick-witted  enough  to  understand 
the  simple  fact  that  the  strange  Indian  had  played 
the  part  of  a  friend,  even  if  she  failed  to  compre- 
hend the  precise  reason  why  he  did  so;  and  some- 
thing in  the  manner  of  the  Mohawk  told  her 
further  that  he  sympathized  with  the  dread  of  the 
Seneca.  The  girl,  therefore,  said  nothing,  acting  as 
if  she  supposed  that  the  redskin  had  withdrawn 
from  their  presence  through  personal  fear  of  a  col- 
lision with  the  dreaded  Red  Jack,  or  Lena-Wingo. 
But,  if  such  were  the  fact,  the  first  thing  the 
Mohawk  would  have  done,  after  getting  the 
opportunity,  would  have  been  to  change  his 
quarters,  so  as  to  prevent  his  enemy  coming  back 
with  reinforcements.  Instead  of  that,  the  scout 
showed  a  disposition  to  stay  where  he  was  for  a 
time  longer,  at  least,  for  several  of  the  Indians 
that  were  looking  for  Elliott  and  Hammond  were 
so  near  that  it  would  have  been  about  impossible 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  147 

for  the  fugitives  to  move  without  betraying  them- 
selves. 

The  strange  forbearance  or  friendship  of  the 
Seneca  did  not  end  with  his  simple  retreat,  after 
discovering  the  hiding-place  of  Rosa  and  her  guide, 
as  the  latter  knew  it  would  not,  but  it  was  shown 
in  the  most  effective  way.  The  Seneca  was  less 
than  a  dozen  yards  from  where  he  left  the  two  in 
hiding,  when  he  met  a  couple  of  warriors  stealing 
toward  the  same  spot,  confident  of  finding  one  of 
the  fugitives  that  had  made  the  dash  for  freedom. 
It  was  only  the  work  of  a  moment  for  the  Seneca 
to  explain  that  he  had  "bored  out  that  well," 
and  it  was  no  use  of  digging  there  for  anything 
in  their  line.  And  so  the  Indian  turned  away,  and 
with  him  went  two  others  that  were  drifting  in 
that  direction. 

This  general  turning  back  caused  a  change  in  the 
line  of  the  search  of  a  portion  of  the  party  for  the 
runaway  fugitives,  and  possibly  contributed  in 
this  indirect  manner  to  their  ultimate  escape. 
Lena-Wingo  was  not  slow  to  comprehend  the 
situation  and  he  resumed  his  flight,  prosecuting  it 
in  the  same  careful  manner  as  at  first.  The  longer 
this  retrograde  movement  continued,  the  more 
secure  did  he  feel  that  he  and  his  charge  were  safe 


148  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

from  disturbance.  By  signs  that  were  unmistaka- 
ble to  him,  he  knew  that  the  search  for  Ham- 
mond and  Elliott  had  taken  another  course  from 
that  which  placed  Rosa  Minturn  in  such  peril  for 
a  time,  and  so  he  was  left  free  to  prosecute  his 
way  in  his  own  peculiar  fashion. 

There  was  one  fact  that  did  not  escape  the 
sagacious  Lena-Wingo  at  this  time.  During  all 
the  flurry,  resulting  from  the  flight  of  the  two 
men,  while  the  redskins  were  darting  and  stealing 
here  and  there  through  the  woods  and  under- 
growth, the  Mohawk  had  not  seen  a  single  red- 
skin that  had  started  from  Forty  Fort  the  night 
before,  by  orders  of  Colonel  Butler,  to  capture 
him  and  Rosa  Minturn.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  two  had  watched  a  canoe  crossing  the 
Susquehanna  a  short  time  after  the  flight  began, 
but  the  pursuers  were  not  foolish  enough  to  send 
all  the  force  detailed  for  this  special  work  in  one 
direction,  on  the  grounds  that  it  was  probable 
that  the  fugitives  had  gone  that  way.  Some  of 
them  must  still  be  on  the  west  side  of  the  Susque- 
hanna. What,  therefore,  was  the  meaning  of  their 
failure  to  show  up  when  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
massacre  by  Queen  Esther? 


THE    WVBR   FUGITIVES. 

Where  the  forest  was  tramped  in  all  directions 
by  such  a  number  of  fleeing  men  and  their  pursuers, 
anything  like  a  systematic  trailing  of  the  Mohawk 
and  the  maiden  was  out  of  the  question.  The 
conclusion  that  Lena-Wingo  educed  from  this 
fact  was  that,  although  a  few  of  his  own  followers 
were  on  his  side  of  the  river,  yet  they  had  become 
convinced  that  the  parties  they  were  hunting  had 
either  crossed  the  stream  or  were  making  ready 
to  do  so,  and  consequently  they  were  watching 
for  them  at  the  river  side. 

There  were  two  courses  of  action  left  open  for 
him.  The  first  was  to  keep  on  up  the  left  bank  of 
the  Susquehanna  until  a  point  was  reached  where 
it  could  be  passed  without  much  danger  of  d»- 
covery,  and  the  other  was  to  ascend  far  enough 
to  feel  pretty  sure  of  keeping  out  of  the  way  of 
any  skulking  redskins,  and  then  to  cross  at  night. 
There  was  not  much  choice  between  these  two 
horns  of  the  dilemma,  for  both  rendered  it  impos- 
sible to  reach  Wilkesbarre  before  night  should 
come  again,  and  there  was  little  difference  in  the 
danger  attending  each. 

Lena-Wingo  had  a  habit  of  thinking  and  decid- 
ing quickly  upon  a  course  of  action,  and  it  dkl 
not  take  more  than  a  minute  or  so  for  him  to 


150  THB   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

make  tip  his  mind  to  remain  on  the  left  bank  until 
night.  He  foresaw  that  the  real  difficulty  still 
was  before  him,  for  the  Indians  who  had  gone 
over  to  intercept  his  flight  to  Wilkesbarre  would 
guard  the  approaches  thereto  with  all  the  skill  at 
their  command.  They  would  discover  in  some 
way  that  he  had  not  reached  his  destination,  and 
scattering  through  the  woods  which  surrounded 
the  station  at  that  day  on  all  sides  excepting  the 
river,  would  leave  no  means  untried  to  prevent 
his  doing  so.  But  this  was  the  sort  of  work 
to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  for  years, 
and  it  had  not  lost  its  attraction. 

However,  he  felt  the  responsibility  of  the  care  of 
the  fair  girl,  whose  life  had  been  intrusted  to  him, 
and  this  rendered  him  more  anxious  than  could 
have  been  the  case  under  other  circumstances. 
Bat,  having  decided  upon  his  course,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  he  should  attend  to  another  duty. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
triujui  BCTT. 


LEXA-WDCGO   quickly  explained  the 
duty  that  CMimcd  his  attmtiom    As  they 'were  to 

it 


that  something  in  the  way  of  food  should  be 
secured,  with  which  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
work  before  them.  Rosa  protested  that  the  diffi- 
culty was  too  great  to  be  encountered,  and  was 
sore  that  she  could  get  along  without  anythtcgto 
eat.  Had  the  Mohawk  been  alone,  he  wonld  aot 
have  thought  the  •m^rf-frM-  worth  a  thought.  He 
_  ;.  : 


trail,  without  a  monthfuL  But  lie  knew  how  the 
case  stood  with  his  fair  *^*«^**  p  """  and  he 
irriesT? 


"Must  hare  eat—  girl  get  weak—  can' 
row  boat.** 

ATI  throi^^n.  the  wToming  TaUey  f  more  IMAM  a 
score  of  mDes  at  length,  were  scattered  the  dm  J 
ings  of  3Ulkis,bgtitwasnottoberipcf  (rd  that 


lift  THB    RTYER    FUGITIVES. 

any  of  the  owners  were  at  home.  Those  who  had 
not  taken  refuge  at  Forty  Fort  had  fled  to  Wilkes- 
barre,  or  some  other  place  of  safety.  In  most 
instances,  nothing  of  their  stock  was  to  be  found. 
At  such  a  time,  too,  it  would  have  been  useless  to 
kunt  for  game,  and  the  maiden  was  justified,  there- 
fore, in  looking  upon  the  attempt  to  procure  the 
food  as  one  not  only  of  great  difficulty,  but  of 
equally  great  danger.  But  there  was  nothing  to 
be  gained  by  attempting  to  combat  the  Mohawk 
when  he  once  decided  upon  his  course. 

The  movements  of  the  two  for  an  hour  had 
resulted  in  placing  them  so  far  outside  of  the  rov- 
ing bands  of  pursuers  that  they  possessed  some- 
thing like  freedom  of  action.  Lena-Wingo  stepped 
off  more  rapidly,  and  with  a  greater  swiftness  and 
confidence  than  before.  He  went  along  with  his 
old  loping  stride,  which  cost  his  fair  companion 
qttite  an  effort  to  equal.  As  they  progressed  they 
partly  left  the  woods,  frequently  coming  out  into 
the  open,  cleared  spaces,  where  they  were  naturally 
exposed  to  the  view  of  any  who  might  be  in  the 
vicinity. 

At  such  times,  Rosa  was  a  prey  to  a  dread  which 
s4ie  could  not  conceal.  It  seemed  to  her  that  noth- 
ing was  more  natural  than  that  some  of  their 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  100 

enemies  were  lurking  in  the  neighborhood,  in  which 
event  it  was  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  them 
to  pick  off  both  her  and  her  companion  by  means 
of  a  stealthy  rifle  shot.  She  strove  to  convince 
herself  that  Lena- Wingo  would  not  run  such  a  risk 
when  he  had  her  under  his  protection,  but  the 
knowledge  of  the  daring,  reckless  nature  of  the 
man  shut  off  much  comfort  from  that  source. 

This  kind  of  progress  was  kept  up  for  a  consid- 
erable time  longer,  when  they  paused  near  a  smal 
house  that  had  evidently  belonged  to  one  of  the 
humblest  settlers  in  the  valley.  The  building  itself 
was  quite  small,  with  a  still  smaller  barn  attached, 
but  there  were  signs  of  thrift  visible  all  around, 
several  acres  being  under  cultivation,  while  the 
garden  belonging  to  the  house  showed  plainly 
that  a  neat  and  industrious  housewife  had  once 
presided  there.  But  the  occupants  were  gone—- 
whether massacred  or  whether  they  had  fled  could 
only  be  conjectured.  Be  that  as  it  may,  another 
thing  was  also  patent — all  their  live-stock  was 
gone  as  well. 

If  the  owner,  learning  of  the  storm  that  was 
approaching,  had  hied  away  to  quarters  which  be 
considered  safer  than  the  fort,  further  down  the 
valley,  he  had  been  deliberate  enough  in  what  be 


154  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

did  to  drive  off  his  animals  with  him.  And  yet 
Lena-Wingo  showed  by  his  actions  that  he  counted 
upon  obtaining  something  there  in  the  way  of 
food,  for  he  made  the  first  halt  since  starting  on 
the  search  proper. 

"Do  you  expect  to  find  something  to  eat?" 
asked  Rosa. 

"Eat  there,"  was  the  answer. 

"But  it  may  contain  Indians  or  Tories,  Jack," 
she  replied,  glad  of  the  chance  to  put  in  a  dis- 
claimer against  his  headlong  manner  of  managing 
his  business. 

"  You  stay  here— wait,  watch.  Lena-Wingo  go 
see  if  Injun  there." 

As  both  were  at  that  moment  standing  in 
an  open  space,  where  they  were  peculiarly  exposed 
to  the  view  of  anyone  approaching  or  going  away 
from  the  building,  to  say  nothing  of  any  who 
might  be  hiding  within,  it  struck  the  girl  as  any- 
thing but  a  brilliant  piece  of  strategy ;  but  before 
she  could  protest,  he  motioned  her  to  follow  him 
to  a  small  clump  of  trees  near  at  hand,  where 
something  like  concealment  could  be  obtained. 
There  she  felt  more  secure,  and  promised  to  stay 
where  he  left  her,  and  to  keep  the  best  watch  pos- 
sible. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITITES.  155 

The  Mohawk  did  not  wait  a  moment  after  giv- 
ing her  this  direction,  but  started  straight  for  the 
house,  which  was  about  a  hundred  yards  away, 
walking  with  his  long,  loping  stride,  such  as  he 
used  when  he  felt  that  the  way  before  him  was 
comparatively  free  from  danger. 

"He  is  so  reckless  that  he  is  sure  to  get  into 
trouble,"  muttered  Rosa,  as  she  watched  him  from 
her  partial  concealment. 

The  next  instant  Lena-Wingo  reached  the  hum- 
ble structure,  which  was  two  stories  in  height, 
with  two  windows  on  the  side  toward  her.  Her 
heart  throbbed  when  she  saw  him  enter  the  door, 
and  she  felt  that  the  critical  moment  had  come 
for  her  as  well  as  for  him. 

If  she  was  filled  with  fear  and  apprehension  when 
he  vanished  in  the  house,  what  were  her  feelings 
when  she  saw  the  very  next  minute  the  figure  of  a 
redskin  at  the  upper  window  ?  Yet  there  was  no 
mistake  about  it.  The  sash  was  raised,  for  the 
weather  was  midsummer,  as  will  be  remembered. 
The  redskin  not  only  appeared  at  the  opening,  but 
he  stopped  and  looked  out. 

"He  is  lost! "  she  thought.  "Why  was  he  not 
more  careful  ?  All  is  lost  I " 


166  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

To  her  horror,  the  Indian  the  next  instant 
showed  by  his  action  that  he  was  looking  in  the 
direction  where  she  was  standing.  Still  worse,  he 
was  actually  making  signals  that  must  be  meant 
for  her.  What  should  she  do  ?  If  he  had  seen  her 
— and  he  assuredly  had — there  was  no  means  of 
escape,  for,  as  close  as  was  the  wood,  the  fleet- 
footed  savage  could  readily  overtake  her  before 
she  could  go  far. 

"What  can  he  mean  by  beckoning  to  me?"  the 
affrighted  maiden  asked  herself,  sorely  puzzled 
indeed. 

"Oh,  now  I  understand! " 

A  moment  later  she  was  laughing  at  her  former 
fears ;  for  she  recognized  the  redskin  as  no  other 
than  Lena-Wingo,  who  was  doing  his  utmost  to 
tell  her  the  way  was  open  and  she  might  approach 
with  safety.  After  such  notice  it  need  not  be  said 
she  did  not  let  the  grass  grow  under  her  feet. 

It  was  strange  that  now,  when  her  great  fear 
was  removed,  that  she  became  sensible  of  the  fact 
that  she  was  in  need  of  food,  and  felt  like  com- 
mending the  prudence  of  her  guide  in  stopping  for 
that  purpose. 

The  Mohawk  was  at  the  door  to  meet  her,  and 
lost  no  time  in  explaining  that  the  dwelling  was 


THE    RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

not  only  free  from  their  enemies,  but  he  had  fount* 
enough  food  to  afford  a  substantial  meal.  He 
proved  the  truth  of  this  by  producing  a  whole  loaf 
of  bread,  that  was  left  in  the  pantry  by  the  owner 
in  his  flight,  but  the  most  thorough  search  failed 
to  discover  anything  else.  But  the  maiden  was 
thankful  to  have  even  that,  and  the  two  seated 
themselves  and  completed  their  strange  meal. 

The  Mohawk  was  in  excellent  spirits,  in  spite  of 
the  fearful  scene  they  had  witnessed  only  a  short 
time  before,  and  he  indulged  in  some  facetious 
observations  that  brought  a  smile  to  the  face  of 
Rosa  more  than  once,  despite  herself.  But  »he 
could  not  shake  off  a  haunting  fear  that  came 
again  and  again,  and,  when  the  dinner  was 
finished,  found  expression: 

"Jack,  suppose  some  of  them  should  come  and 
and  find  us  here?'* 

"Injun  won't  come.  Bat  all  want.  We  all  alone 
here—" 

The  broken  sentence  was  not  yet  completed  when 
the  speaker  stopped  short  in  his  utterance.  Well 
he  might.  For  at  that  moment  they  heard,  beyond 
a  doubt,  the  sound  of  their  enemies  approaching 
the  bouse,  and  they  were  close  at  hand,  too. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

A  STRANGE  ESCAPE. 

NEVER  did  the  Mohawk  show  his  wonderful  self 
possession  and  marvelous  resources  to  better 
advantage  than  when  he  made  the  discovery  that 
a  party  of  the  Indians  whom  he  was  seeking  to 
avoid  were  approaching  the  house  in  which  he 
and  Rosa  Minturn  were  seated,  and  were  already 
so  close  that  it  was  impossible  to  escape  by  flight 
No  man  is  so  wise  that  he  does  not  at  times  make 
some  mistake,  and  the  Mohawk,  although  keen 
above  his  kind,  had  committed  an  error  that 
threatened  fatal  consequences. 

He  had  told  his  companion  that  there  was  no 
danger  of  disturbance  from  their  enemies,  and  he 
really  believed  there  was  not,  for  the  house  was  so 
far  removed  from  the  tract  swept  over  by  the 
Tories  and  Indians  that  the  supposition  was  a 
reasonable  one.  The  conclusion  was  a  correct  one 
on  general  principles;  but  there  was  the  possibility 
that  always  hangs  over  every  one — a  chance  turn 

168 


THE   RIYBR   FUGITIVES.  159 

in  affairs,  by  which  the  peril  would  be  precipi* 
tated. 

The  visit  of  the  redskins  was  an  accidental  one. 
for  they,  too,  committed  the  error  of  supposing 
there  was  no  one  in  the  dwelling— at  least,  belong- 
ing to  the  party  whom  they  were  hunting.  Had 
there  been  a  suspicion  of  anything  different,  those 
within  -would  never  have  been  apprised  of  the 
approach  of  their  foes,  except  when  too  late. 

The  Mohawk  had  scarcely  checked  himself  in  his 
utterance,  when  he  darted  his  hand  forward, 
seized  the  wrist  of  the  startled  girl  and  drew  her 
from  the  chair  in  which  she  was  sitting.  Without 
a  second's  pause,  he  hurried  to  the  foot  of  the 
stairs,  leaving  the  door  open  at  the  bottom,  so 
that  the  Indians  could  ascend  if  they  chose,  with- 
out the  least  hindrance.  In  her  trepidation,  the 
girl  reached  out  to  draw  the  door  shut  after  them, 
but  the  Indian  would  not  allow  her  to  touch  it 
and  hurried  her  upstairs,  into  the  room  from 
which  he  had  signaled  to  her  to  come  when  she 
was  waiting  outside. 

All  that  time— and  it  seemed  long— the  two 
could  catch  the  sound  of  voices  on  the  outside,  so 
there  could  be  no  mistake  about  their  enemies 
being  close  at  hand,  the  peculiar  intonation  tell- 


160  THE    RIVER    FCGITlVIiS. 

ing  Lega-Wingo  that  they  belonged  to  his  own 
race.  Once  within  the  room  above,  the  girl  was 
led  part  way  to  the  window,  halting  just  where 
she  could  not  look  outside,  and  he  whispered, 
"Stay  there!" 

She  nodded  her  head  to  signify  that  she  under- 
stood and  would  obey,  and  one  long  silent  stride 
carried  the  lank  body  of  the  Mohawk  to  the  win- 
dow, out  of  which  he  peeped  at  the  coming 
savages,  concealing  himself  from  sight  with  little 
trouble.  The  view  only  confirmed  what  his  ear 
had  told  him.  Some  six  or  eight  Iroquois  were 
within  the  small  yard  surrounding  the  house, 
grunting  and  talking  in  a  way  that  proved  they 
had  scarcely  a  thought  of  danger,  or  of  finding 
any  of  the  settlers  in  a  place  which  showed  at 
the  first  glance  that  it  had  been  deserted  long 
since  by  the  owners. 

It  was  a  puzzle  to  Lena-Wingo  why  these  warriors 
had  paused  here,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  there 
was  really  no  good  cause,  but  that  the  call  was 
merely  a  chance  one.  They  were  a  band  that  had 
probably  been  attached  to  a  larger  one  ravaging 
through  the  valley,  or  they  were  returning  from 
some  unusually  long  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  As 
the  day  was  very  warm,  it  might  be  they  had 


THB   RIYBR   FUGITIVES.  163 

•topped  to  rest,  in  obedience  to  some  whim.  But 
all  this  was  conjecture,  and  the  great  concern  of 
the  scout  was  as  to  how  he  was  to  get  himself 
out  of  an  exceedingly  bad  dilemma. 

He  saw  that  the  Iroquois  were  about  entering 
the  house,  and,  having  no  fear  of  disturbance 
from  the  whites,  they  did  not  place  a  guard  on 
the  outside  to  watch  for  eavesdroppers,  nor  to 
prevent  the  flight  of  any  who  possibly  might  be 
waiting  within.  The  Mohawk  watched  them  as 
a  cat  watches  a  mouse,  not  allowing  the  slightest 
movement  to  escape  him.  It  was  this  total  lack 
of  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  visitors  that 
opened  the  way  for  the  display  of  the  peculiar 
powers  of  Lena-Wingo. 

Still  keeping  his  own  head  concealed,  he  was 
able  to  tell,  by  using  eyes  and  ears,  the  precise 
moment  when  the  last  enemy  entered  the  room 
below.  As  soon  as  they  crossed  the  threshold 
they  would  see  the  signs  of  the  feast  that  had 
taken  place  so  recently,  and  their  suspicions 
would  be  aroused  at  once.  At  the  very  instant 
the  last  of  the  "Six  Nations,"  as  the  Iroquois 
were  called,  had  passed  within  the  door  the 
Mohawk  seized  Rosa  Minturn  by  the  arms. 
Before  she  could  comprehend  what  he  was  trying 


164  THB   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

to  do,  he  had  forced  her  through  the  window — she 
assisting  the  second  she  saw  his  purpose — and 
holding  her  for  a  second  or  two  by  the  hands  that 
her  dress  might  settle  in  shape,  and  she  might  also 
prepare  for  the  fall,  he  let  go.  She  dropped  the 
few  remaining  feet,  striking  so  lightly  that  she 
was  not  injured  in  the  least. 

Up  to  this  time  not  a  word  had  been  exchanged 
between  the  two  nor  was  there  now.  As  soon  as 
Rosa's  feet  struck  the  ground,  she  looked  up  to 
her  dusky  friend  for  guidance.  He  pointed  to  the 
clump  of  trees  in  which  she  had  stood  concealed  a 
short  time  before,  as  the  direction  for  her  to 
follow.  As  proof  that  there  was  no  time  for 
loitering,  he  not  only  pointed  in  that  direction, 
but  he  shot  his  finger  a  half  dozen  times  with  a 
rigor  that  could  not  be  misunderstood. 

It  seemed  to  the  frightened  girl  that  it  was  sure 
death  to  make  the  attempt,  but  it  was  the  same 
to  remain,  and  she  did  not  hesitate.  She  headed 
straight  across  the  intervening  space,  and  ran 
with  all  the  speed  of  which  she  was  capable.  It 
seemed  to  her  that  after  drawing  in  her  breath,  at 
the  moment  of  starting,  she  did  not  breathe 
again  until  the  trying  run  was  ended.  She  did 
not  dare  to  look  over  her  shoulder,  for  fear  that 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  165 

it  might  delay  her  steps.  She  was  in  that  state 
of  dread  in  which  she  expected  every  minute  to 
hear  the  crack  of  a  rifle  aimed  at  her,  or  the  sud- 
den cry  announcing  she  was  discovered,  and  the 
fatal  pursuit  begun. 

When  it  is  remembered  how  peculiarly  exposed 
she  was  to  such  discovery,  it  will  seem  almost 
incredible  that  she  should  escape;  yet  she  did, 
and  there  was  the  soundest  philosophy  for  her 
doing  so,  wherein  lies  the  secret  of  that  readiness 
of  resource  for  which  Lena-Wingo  was  dis- 
tinguished. When  Rosa  sped  across  the  open 
space,  there  were  two  windows  in  the  room 
which  the  Iroquois  had  entered,  and  from  which 
they  could  have  seen  the  frightened  fugitive  had 
they  but  looked  out  at  that  critical  time.  No  one 
understood  this  better  than  the  Mohawk,  and  he 
prepared  for  the  danger.  He  was  certain,  also 
that  just  as  soon  as  the  warriors  stepped  within 
the  house,  their  attention  would  be  arrested  by 
the  signs  of  the  recent  occupancy  of  it. 

They  would  approach  the  little  deal  table,  upon 
which  were  the  remnants  of  the  feast,  and  they 
were  sure  to  spend  several  minutes  in  finding  out 
what  it  all  meant.  These  precious  minutes  were 
the  ones  which  the  Mohawk  intended  should  be 


A 
166  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

used  by  the  girl  in  reaching  shelter.  The  simple 
question  with  the  dusky  scout  was  whether  the 
time  allowed  for  this  strange  means  of  escape 
would  be  sufficient  for  the  fleet-footed  girl. 

He  watched  her  flight  across  the  open  space,  and 
his  dark  eye  kindled  with  admiration  at  her  swift 
progress,  for  it  struck  him  that  she  would  need 
only  a  little  more  training  to  hold  her  own  with 
some  of  the  warriors  themselves.  The  sagacity  of 
the  Mohawk  was  shown  in  the  fact  that  the  brief 
period  upon  which  he  counted  for  the  safe  flight  of 
die  girl  proved  sufficient  for  that  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

BIGHT  AGAINST  ONE. 

PROBABLY  at  no  time  since  the  Mohawk  had 
undertaken  to  conduct  Rosa  to  a  place  of  safety 
was  his  anxiety  on  her  account  so  great  as  when 
he  stood  by  the  open  window  of  the  deserted 
house,  and  watched  her  flight  to  the  shelter  of  the 
group  of  trees  a  short  distance  away.  While  be 
viewed  her  motions,  he  also  watched  those  of  the 
redmen  below.  His  keen  sense  of  hearing,  together 
with  his  intimate  knowledge  of  their  characteris- 
tics, enabled  him  to  decide  what  they  were  doing 
almost  as  well  as  if  he  were  looking  down  through 
the  ceiling  upon  them. 

He  knew  that  the  first  one  who  entered  theroom 
caught  the  signs  of  the  recent  occupancy  of  the 
place,  and  apprised  the  others  of  the  discovery  at 
the  same  moment.  Then,  as  they  followed  him 
stealthily  in,  they  stood  like  so  many  bronze 
images,  staring  about  the  apartment,  and  using 
their  eyes  to  find  the  explanation.  When  Rosa 
had  reached  a  place  of  shelter,  the  time  had  oome 

167 


168  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

to  dismiss  her  from  his  thoughts,  and  to  attend  to 
his  own  affairs. 

One  Indian  against  eight !  Certainly  the  odds 
were  alarming,  even  though  the  one  at  bay  had 
the  upper  position,  and  was  somewhat  in  the  char- 
acter of  a  defender.  But  Lena-Wingo  possessed 
another  advantage,  on  which  he  relied  in  a  great 
degree.  His  enemies  did  not  know  who  was  in  the 
building  besides  themselves,  nor  whether  there 
was  one  or  half  a  dozen.  It  was  his  purpose  to 
keep  up  the  deception,  and,  if  possible,  to 
increase  it. 

While  those  below-stairs  were  still  standing 
motionless,  and  considering  what  was  best  to  do, 
he  moved  his  feet  over  the  floor,  softly  it  is  true, 
but  still  distinctly  enough  to  be  heard  by  all,  the 
sound  being  such  as  would  be  made  by  several 
persons  trying  to  change  their  position  without 
attracting  the  notice  of  their  foes.  This  prelimi- 
nary strategy  was  successful.  The  redmen  were 
alarmed  by  the  conviction  that  they  had  entered  a 
house  in  which  were  a  number  of  their  foes.  The 
question  with  them,  as  a  consequence,  became  as 
to  how  they  should  extricate  themselves  from  what 
looked  like  a  dangerous  situation. 

They  might  make  an  advance  upon  the  defenders 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  171 

even  if  be  did  not  feel  sure  Rosa  Minttirn  was  in 
the  same  building  with  him.  If  found  impossibk 
to  dislodge  the  warrior  from  his  defense,  there 
could  be  little  doubt  that  the  attempt  would  be 
made  to  burn  him  out;  so,  let  events  shape 
themselves  as  they  might,  Lena-Wingo  considered 
it  certain  that  lively  times  were  at  hand.  It  was 
his  aim,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  keep  his  identity 
concealed  as  long  as  possible,  and  not  to  allow  his 
enemies  to  know  that  he  was  the  single  defender 
of  the  house. 

Ten  minutes  after  he  noticed  the  sounds  that 
showed  the  Iroquois  were  withdrawing,  be 
caught  sight  of  one  of  them  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  building.  This  was  proof  that  the 
warrior  had  gone  to  that  distance  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reconnoissance,  and  it  suggested  also  that 
the  situation  of  Rosa  Minturn  was  becoming 
critical  when  their  enemies  were  spreading  out  in 
the  neighborhood.  But  for  the  time  she  must 
look  out  for  herself,  as  the  scout  had  his  own 
hands  full. 

One  of  those  tedious  intervals  that  often 
characterized  Indian  warfare  succeeded.  For  an 
entire  hour  a  mere  spectator  would  have  decided 
that  nothing  at  all  was  done.  During  this  time 


172  THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

the  Mohawk  held  his  position  in  the  upper  room, 
while  the  Iroquois  maneuvered  on  the  outside, 
their  principal  object  being  to  learn  something 
more  definite  of  the  number  and  intention  of  the 
garrison.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  in 
this  respect  they  were  disappointed,  and  the 
deception  was  deepened. 

Lena-Wingo,  when  he  caught  sight  of  three  of 
the  warriors  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  wood, 
looking  inquiringly  toward  him,  and  gesticulating 
in  a  way  that  showed  they  were  engaged  in  an 
earnest  discussion,  sent  a  rifle  ball  among  them, 
merely  to  apprise  them  the  garrison  was  on 
guard.  From  the  window  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  apartment  was  sent  another  bullet,  after  a 
single  Cayuga,  who  did  not  seem  to  suspect  his 
danger,  the  two  balls  being  fired  so  near  together 
that  not  one  of  the  warriors  dreamed  it  possible 
they  could  have  come  from  the  same  gun.  In 
neither  case  was  a  warrior  killed,  for  Lena-Wingo 
did  not  seek  to  bring  them  down,  his  object  hav- 
ing been  obtained  by  the  simple  act  of  firing. 

At  this  critical  juncture,  however,  an  incident 
occurred  that  was  as  great  a  surprise  to  the 
defender  of  the  house  as  to  the  assailants.  The 
former  had  prepared  for  a  desperate  struggle 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIYBS.  173 

which  would  probably  be  continued  into  the 
night,  when  the  diversion  came.  Lena-Wingo 
had  just  reloaded  his  piece,  and  was  looking  at 
the  group  of  three  Indians  who  were  still  discuss- 
ing him,  when  a  gun  was  fired  from  a  point  in  the 
wood  not  far  off,  and  one  of  the  trio  was  seen  to 
throw  up  his  arms  and  fall  forward  on  his  face. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AN  UNEXPECTED  ALLY. 

WHOEVER  fired  the  gun  that  brought  down 
one  of  the  three  Iroquois  had  done  it  in  the  interest 
of  the  Mohawk,  for  certainly  one  of  his  deadliest 
enemies  was  laid  low  thereby.  Sagacious  and 
shrewd  as  was  the  dusky  scout,  he  was  unable  to 
guess  who  his  friend  could  be.  He  scrutinized  the 
point  from  which  the  shot  was  fired  so  long  and 
intently  that  he  ran  risk  of  being  detected  himself 
and  drawing  a  shot. 

The  crack  of  the  rifle  was  so  unexpected  by  the 
Iroquois  that  it  produced  consternation  among 
them.  The  two  who  escaped  him  leaped  back  into 
the  woods,  out  of  sight  of  the  one  who  had  fired 
the  fatal  shot.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
the  Mohawk  discovered  them  peering  from  behind 
the  trees  in  the  direction  from  which  came  the 
messenger  of  death. 

While  they  were  thus  employed,  two  more 
warriors  appeared  between  the  spot  where  they 
were  standing  and  the  one  from  which  the  fatal 

174 


THB   RIYER   FUGITIVES.  175 

bnttet  had  been  sent,  apparently  unaware  of  the 
critical  position  in  which  they  placed  themselves. 
But  they  were  not  long  in  learning  their  error,  for 
they  were  no  more  than  fairly  in  sight  when  from 
the  same  point  on  the  edge  of  the  forest  was  seen 
the  little  blue  puff  of  smoke,  and  the  report  of  the 
gun  was  scarcely  sooner  than  the  death  cry  of  the 
Indian  at  whom  it  was  aimed.  This  was  effective 
work,  and  Lena-Wingo  knew  enough  to  reinforce 
it  without  delay. 

Before  the  comrade  of  the  one  that  had  just 
fallen  could  get  out  of  the  way,  he  received  a 
leaden  messenger  from  the  gun  of  the  scout,  who 
made  his  aim  no  less  sure  than  the  one  that  pre- 
ceded it.  And  this  was  more  effective  work  still ; 
for  it  taught  the  Iroquois  that  they  were 
" flanked,"  and  caught  between  two  fires.  The 
result  was  a  sort  of  panic,  and  those  who  were 
still  unharmed  hurried  from  the  spot,  without 
making  any  more  investigation.  Still,  after  such 
a  repulse,  they  were  likely  to  return  with  a  larger 
force,  and  burn  the  building  that  had  proved  so 
disastrous  to  them. 

Lena-Wingo  could  see  no  wisdom  in  staying  to 
take  part  in  the  proceedings  that  were  certain  to 
foflow,  and  he  did  not  stay.  Waiting  a  few 


176  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

minutes,  to  give  the  Iroquois  enough  time  to  get 
fairly  under  way,  the  scout  vaulted  out  the  win- 
dow from  which  he  had  fired  but  a  minute  before, 
and,  without  hesitation,  started  on  a  rapid  walk 
toward  the  point  from  which  the  two  friendly 
shots  had  been  fired.  He  had  not  reached  it  by 
several  rods  when  the  figure  of  a  young  man 
stepped  forth,  and  smilingly  greeted  him. 

"Well,  Jack,"  said  he,  extending  his  hand,  "it 
seems  that  I  was  just  in  time  to  do  something  for 
you,  and  I  am  glad  of  it.  But  how  was  it  you 
were  caught  in  such  a  fix  ?  " 

It  was  Ned  Clinton,  one  of  the  young  scouts, 
who  thus  addressed  him,  and  the  Mohawk  grinned 
more  than  usual,  as  he  shook  the  extended  hand 
and  replied : 

"Stop  therewith  girl  to  eat— Iroquois  come— 
girl  slip  off— Lena-Wingo  stay — Ned  come — shoot 
good — they  run — where  he  come?  " 

"Why,  Jo  and  I  have  been  skirmishing  through 
the  woods  ever  since  the  battle.  We  started  for 
Wilkesbarre,  and  had  got  nearly  there  when  Jo 
became  so  worried  about  his  folks  that  he  asked 
me  to  try  to  go  back  to  Forty  Fort,  and  find  out 
whether  it  was  all  well  with  them;  I  was  as  anx- 
ious as  he,  and  we  started. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  177 

"Well,  the  woods  are  full  of  Indians  and  Tories, 
I  can  tell  you,  and  we  had  a  pretty  tough  time  of 
it,  but  Jo  succeeded  in  reaching  his  own  house, 
where  he  heard  the  worst  kind  of  tidings.  He 
found  his  father  and  mother,  who  told  him  that 
you  started  with  Rosa  last  night  for  Wilkesbarre, 
to  get  away  from  Colonel  Butler,  and  he  had  sent 
a  lot  of  Indians  in  pursuit,  and  they  were  afraid 
you  would  not  be  able  to  make  it. 

"It  seems  that  one  of  the  Tories  had  called  at 
the  house  and  given  them  the  news,  adding  that 
Butler  had  sworn  you  should  be  scalped  and  Rosa 
brought  back,  and  they  were  expecting  the  return 
of  the  pursuers  every  minute,  with  your  scalp,  but 
I  guess  they'll  keep  on  expecting  for  some  time 
yet." 

The  Mohawk  grinned  again  at  this  compliment 
to  his  prowess,  and  said : 

"Iroquois  hunt  for  Lena-Wingo  scalp  many 
times — not  got  him  yet — keep  on  hunt  for  him." 

"Well,  while  Jo  was  in  the  house,  I  waited  in 
the  woods  for  him,  for  I  was  a  little  afraid  of 
going  in,  as  there  were  some  of  the  Tories  and 
Indians  that  don't  love  me  any  more  than  they 
ought,  and  I  believed,  if  they  saw  both  of  us 


173  THE    K1VKR    FUGITIVES. 

together,  they  would  be  more  likely  to 
than  if  we  were  apart. 

"Jo's  folks  wanted  him  to  start  with  nx»  after 
you,  thinking  we  might  be  able  to  help  you  on  the 
way  to  Wilkesbarre,  when  you  had  the  girl  to  take 
care  of. 

"It  took  Jo  a  good  while  to  get  back  to  me  in 
the  woods,  and,  when  he  succeeded,  we  did  not 
know  what  to  do ;  but  Colonel  Denison  had  told 
him  that  you  had  said  to  him  before  starting  that 
you  meant  to  go  pretty  well  up  the  river  before 
crossing,  and  he  believed  that  you  had  not  gone 
over  yet ;  so  we  picked  our  way  tjp  stream  as  best 
we  could,  and  you  need  not  be  told  that  we  had 
pretty  hard  work  of  it,  running  against  some  of 
the  warriors  twice,  and  narrowly  missing  being 
caught  three  times,  but  we  managed  to  reach  this 
place,  where,  as  good  fortune  would  have  it,  we 
met  Rosa  face  to  face,  and  she  told  us  the  whole 
story. 

"She  had  waited  and  watched,  in  the  hiding  that 
you  directed  her  to,  until  the  redmen  were  begin- 
ning to  spread  out,  so  that  she  was  in  danger  of 
being  discovered,  when  she  concluded  the  only 
thing  she  could  do  to  save  herself  was  to  move 
farther  back  into  the  woods,  and  it  was  while  she 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  179 

was  doing  so  that  we  met  her  and  beard  her 
story. 

"  As  it  looked  as  if  you  were  in  a  bad  place,  it 
was  agreed  that  Jo  should  go  on  up  stream  "with 
his  sister  a  little  way,  and  after  putting  her  in 
some  good  hiding-place,  he  was  to  come  back  and 
help  me  in  trying  to  assist  you.  Before  he  could 
return,  the  necessity  passed." 

The  eyes  of  the  Mohawk  sparkled  in  a  manner 
that  proved  he  was  well  pleased  with  the  action 
of  the  young  scouts. 

"You  and  Jo  do  well — brave  men." 

"I  do  n't  know  about  that,  but  we  were  glad 
enough,  I  can  assure  you,  to  be  able  to  do  some- 
thing for  you,  who  have  risked  so  much,  and 
befriended  us  and  our  friends  so  often." 

"If  men  all  like  you,"  added  the  red  scout,  "Col- 
onel Butler  and  Iroquois  and  Tories  all  drive  back 
—no  white  men  scalp  and  tomahawk— we  shoot 
'em  all." 

A  compliment  from  a  hero  like  Lena-Wingo  was 
the  highest  kind  of  tribute,  and  the  young  man 
blushed  like  a  schoolboy  at  the  consciousness  that 
he  had  succeeded  in  winning  the  good  opinion  of 
the  brave  fellow.  But  business  was  on  hand,  and 
there  was  no  time  for  delay. 


180  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

"Jack,  don't  you  think  the  Indians  we  have 
repulsed  will  be  likely  to  return  again,  to  drive  us 
off,  or,  rather,  to  punish  us  for  this  little  affair?  " 

"Yes— soon  be  here— soon  come." 

"Then  -we  had  better  be  on  the  move." 

"Yes — we  go — we  no  stay." 

Nevertheless,  the  Mohawk  did  not  seem  to  be 
in  a  hurry  about  moving  off,  though  he  had  just 
admitted  the  necessity  of  doing  so. 

The  reason  was,  that  he  was  not  only  aware 
they  would  return,  but  he  was  quite  certain  of  the 
time  that  would  be  required  to  bring  them  back ; 
hence  he  knew  the  period  that  it  was  safe  to 
remain. 

"What  would  you  have  done  if  I  had  not  been 
able  to  help  you?  "  asked  Ned,  noticing  his  delay, 
but  not  desiring  to  claim  any  undue  credit  for  the 
part  he  had  played  in  extricating  the  Mohawk 
from  his  embarrassing  predicament. 

"Stay  till  night— then  slip  out— run  away." 

"But  suppose  they  had  fired  the  house?  What 
then?" 

"Lena-Wingo  wouldn't  let  'em,"  was  the 
instant  reply,  with  the  old  flash  of  the  eye. 
"They  come  up  to  house  to  set  fire— Lena- 
Wingo  shoot  'em  all." 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  181 

"I  have  no  doubt  you  would  have  managed  to 
get  along,  for  if  half  the  stories  told  about  you 
are  true,  you  have  been  in  a  great  many  -worse 
scrapes  than  that." 

"Come,  "said  the  Indian  abruptly.  "We  look 
for  girl  and  Jo." 

And  the  two  moved  off  in  the  forest. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

UNEXPECTED  PERDU 

As  is  frequently  the  case  in  these  days,  the  light- 
ning struck  where  it  was  least  expected.  Neither 
Lena-Wingo  nor  Ned  Clinton  supposed  that  there 
was  any  danger  to  happen  to  Jo  Minturn,  who 
had  taken  temporary  charge  of  his  sister,  and 
ordinarily,  there  would  not  have  been.  The 
meeting  between  the  two  was  of  the  most  affec- 
tionate character,  for,  despite  the  favorable  news 
that  reached  the  sister  of  the  safety  of  her  brother, 
she  could  not  avoid  a  certain  anxiety  when  there 
was  such  a  terrible  massacre  going  on  all  the 
time. 

After  the  greeting  between  her  and  Ned,  it  will 
be  understood  that  the  latter  went  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Mohawk  in  the  building,  when 
the  couple  continued  in  quest  of  some  hiding 
place  for  the  girl,  where  she  could  be  left,  while  Jo 
returned  to  the  help  of  Ned  in  his  efforts  to  save  the 
friendly  scout.  It  was  a  small  matter  to  discover 
a  place  that  would  answer  for  the  fair  fugitive 

182 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  186 

when  there  was  such  a  growth  of  dense  bushes 
and  shrubbery.  After  going  several  hundred 
yards,  they  found  themselves  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Susquehanna,  where  Jo  proposed  that  his 
sister  should  remain  till  he  could  return  for  her. 

"Of  course  you  will  stay  right  here,  Rosa," 
said  he,  "and  not  be  tempted  away  by  anything 
that  may  be  going  on  near  you  ?  " 

"Not  unless  I  am  driven  off  by  some  of  the 
Indians  or  white  men." 

"I  do  n't  think  you  are  in  any  danger  from 
that,  for  the  undergrowth  is  so  thick  that  one 
might  step  on  your  dress  without  seeing  you, 
and  there  is  no  possibility  of  any  of  the  warriors 
trying  to  follow  your  trail." 

"I  have  no  fear  for  myself,"  replied  the  girl,  as 
she  entered  the  sheltering  woods.  "It  is  more  on 
your  account." 

"Me ?  "  laughed  the  young  man.  "  What  could 
have  put  such  an  idea  in  your  head?  Haven't 
Ned  and  I  learned  enough  during  the  last  few  days 
to  take  care  of  ourselves  ?  I  tell  you,  Ned  is  a 
brave  fellow,  Rosa,  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  him, 
you  would  never  have  seen  me  again.  But  I 
mustn't  stay  here  to  talk,  for  he  may  want  me  to 
help  him  out." 


184  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES, 

Hastily  embracing  his  sister,  he  kissed  her  good- 
bye, and,  as  he  moved  away,  looked  back  and 
threw  her  a  kiss  at  the  moment  the  intervening 
shrubbery  shut  them  from  each  other's  sight. 

Just  as  Jo  started,  the  sound  of  the  last  shot 
of  Lena-Wingo  told  him  that  something  was  up, 
and  showed  the  proper  direction  to  follow  to 
reach  his  friends.  The  peculiar  phase  that  the 
struggle  between  the  Mohawk  and  his  enemies 
took  at  that  juncture  was  unsuspected  by  Jo,  and 
was  the  cause  of  his  getting  into  the  worst  kind 
of  difficulty. 

When  the  Iroquois  became  panic-stricken  by  the 
fire  from  front  and  rear  and  started  in  such  haste 
for  help  with  which  to  avenge  themselves  on  their 
adversaries,  several  of  them  headed  directly 
toward  Jo,  so  that,  unless  something  unexpected 
by  either  should  intervene,  they  were  sure  to 
meet.  Of  course  neither  party  was  aware  of  his 
unfortunate  state  of  the  case,  and  nothing  did 
intervene  to  avert  the  meeting. 

Jo  was  walking  quite  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
the  point  whence  came  the  shooting,  when  he  was 
startled  by  the  sound  of  bodies  moving  through 
the  woods  in  advance.  He  abruptly  paused, 
not  knowing  what  it  meant. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  186 

"  What's  that,  I  won—" 

There  was  no  necessity  of  his  wondering  any 
farther  about  the  matter,  for  at  that  moment  the 
figures  of  the  four  Iroquois  appeared  in  the  path, 
less  than  a  hundred  feet  distant.  They  advanced 
so  unexpectedly  that  the  lad  was  entirely  unpre- 
pared for  them.  Had  he  been  given  a  single  sec- 
ond's warning,  he  could  have  done  something,  for 
a  large  tree  was  within  a  yard  of  the  very  spot 
where  he  had  halted.  But  the  redmen  caught  sight 
of  him  at  the  same  instant  that  he  descried  them, 
and,  such  being  the  case,  concealment  was  out  of 
the  question. 

Obviously,  there  was  but  one  course  open  to  the 
youth,  and  that  was  to  whirl  around  and  run  as 
fast  as  he  knew  how.  That  he  did,  without  stop- 
ping to  consider  which  might  be  the  wisest  step, 
when  there  was  but  the  one  thing  to  do.  The 
Indians,  as  may  be  supposed,  were  eager  to  secure 
some  white  man  upon  whom  to  wreak  a  partial 
revenge  for  what  they  had  already  suffered  but  a 
short  time  before.  At  the  same  instant,  therefore, 
that  Jo  Minturn  started  to  run  they  began  an 
equally  vigorous  pursuit. 

The  danger  to  the  young  scout  was  imminent, 
for  the  Indians  were  fleet  of  foot,  and  were  so 


186  THB   RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

close  at  the  instant  he  began  his  flight  that  there 
was  little  chance  for  strategy  or  maneuvering. 
With  the  sheltering  shadows  of  the  woods,  and 
the  dense  undergrowth,  he  would  not  have  asked 
a  much  greater  start  than  he  had  secured,  but  the 
few  yards  he  lacked  were  the  few  that  it  seemed 
could  not  be  obtained.  Feeling  that  all  depended 
upon  his  speed,  Jo  did  his  utmost.  He  went  tear- 
ing through  the  forest  like  one  who  knew  his  life 
was  the  prize  for  which  he  was  contending. 

He  could  get  over  the  ground  with  considerable 
speed  when  he  set  about  it,  and  for  the  first  few 
rods  he  not  only  held  his  own  but  slightly  drew 
away  from  his  dusky  pursuers. 

Indeed  he  might  have  gained  a  chance  to  attempt 
some  of  his  tactics,  but  at  the  very  moment  he 
was  meditating  doing  so,  he  reflected  that  he  was 
speeding  directly  toward  the  hiding-place  of  his 
sister,  and  was  close  to  it  already.  If  she  learned 
what  was  going  on,  she  was  likely  to  expose  her- 
self to  an  equally  great  danger,  in  the  effort  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  the  Mohawk  or  his  friend. 
And  if  that  did  not  follow,  there  was  the  certainty 
that  he  would  betray  her  hiding-place  to  the  very 
miscreants  who  were  hunting  her. 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  187 

This  dread  caused  him  to  make  a  sudden  tttrn 
to  the  left  and  up  the  river,  but  with  no  clearly 
defined  purpose  as  to  where  he  was  to  stop.  His 
first  thought  was  to  make  for  the  river,  and  to 
plunge  into  that,  trusting  to  the  extraordinary 
powers  of  swimming  that  had  served  him  so  well 
the  night  before.  But  his  skill  in  that  respect  could 
have  availed  him  nothing  but  for  the  favoring 
darkness,  and  it  was  evident  to  him  that  the 
result  would  be  fatal,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned. 

Then  he  fancied  that  by  shouting  at  the  top  of 
his  bent,  he  would  bring  Lena-Wingo  to  his  assist- 
ance, provided  the  Mohawk  was  in  a  situation  to 
respond.  But  Jo  did  not  suspect  these  Iroquois 
belonged  to  the  body  that  were  pressing  the  red 
scout  so  hard,for  the  redmen  were  wandering  every- 
where in  the  forest  and  through  the  valley.  This 
plan,  likely,  would  have  accomplished  its  purpose  if 
tried,  but  it  was  abhorrent  to  the  fugitive,  who 
felt  that  it  savored  of  cowardice,  and  it  might 
give  his  pursuers  more  confidence  than  they  now 
felt,  and  perhaps  bring  more  of  their  comrades  to 
the  spot. 

Not  a  shot  had  been  fired  as  yet  by  the  pursuing 
Iroquois,  nor  had  they  given  utterance  to  a  single 
outcry ;  but,  feeling  that  the  game  was  in  their 


188  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

hands,  they  settled  down  to  the  work  of  securing 
it.  Now  and  then  —  when  the  frightened  fugi- 
tive glanced  over  his  shoulder,  he  saw  the  war- 
riors pressing  him  hard,  none  relaxing  their 
vigilance  in  the  least.  He  was  encouraged 
by  the  belief  at  first  that  he  was  gaining  ground, 
but  his  heart  sank  when,  a  few  minutes  after 
making  his  turn  up  the  stream,  he  became  con- 
vinced that  the  utmost  he  could  do  was  to  hold 
his  own.  It  seemed  to  Jo  that  something  might 
be  accomplished  by  swerving  in  the  direction  of 
the  spot  where  he  believed  Ned  Clinton  and  the 
Mohawk  were  awaiting  him.  In  fact,  there  was 
nothing  else  left  for  him  to  try,  and  he  tried  it  as 
soon  as  it  came  to  mind.  But  this  scheme  was  to 
be  of  no  avail  whatever  in  the  peril  in  which  he 
was  placed. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


BY  this  time,  the  "second  wind,"  as  it  is  called, 
had  come  to  Jo,  and  inspired  by  the  belief  that 
there  was  hope,  he  indulged  in  a  burst  of  speed 
which  almost  instantly  placed  him  so  far  beyond 
the  Iroquois  that  the  pursuers  and  pursued  were 
lost  to  the  sight  of  each  other.  This  was  encour- 
aging in  the  highest  degree,  though  it  did  not 
establish  the  safety  of  the  fugitive  by  any  means. 
He  had  succeeded  in  reaching  that  point  where  he 
only  needed  to  get  a  little  further  to  make  his 
position  almost  secure,  and  where,  at  the  same 
time,  he  only  wanted  to  halt  for  a  single  minute 
to  drop  into  the  clutches  of  his  enemies.  Poor  Jo 
strove  as  never  before,  and  he  was  quite  hopeful 
that  he  was  drawing  away  from  his  foes,  when  he 
made  another  turn  to  the  right,  and  exactly  at  the 
instant  of  doing  so  caught  sight  of  a  hollow  tree 
before  him. 

He  recognized  it  as  one  in  which  he  had  spent  a 
night  some  time  before,  when  hunting  in  this 

1S9 


190  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

section.  The  interior  was  large  enough  to  con- 
tain several  men,  the  opening  being  on  the  other 
side.  Without  time  enough  to  think  of  the  rash- 
ness of  trusting  to  such  a  shelter  when  the 
Iroquois  were  at  his  heels,  the  lad  dashed  around 
the  trunk  and  crawled  within  as  nimbly  as  if  he 
was  a  coon  with  a  pack  of  hounds  after  him.  The 
moment  that  the  fugitive  was  inside,  his  heart 
sank,  for  he  felt  he  had  committed  a  fatal  mistake ; 
but  it  was  two  late  to  withdraw,  and  he  could 
only  wait  until  they  came  up  and  took  him 
prisoner. 

The  hole  by  which  he  had  entered  this  hollow 
was  some  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground,  but 
of  such  dimensions  that  he  was  able  to  go  in 
without  difficulty.  The  tree  itself  was  a  large 
one,  the  trunk  being  several  feet  in  diameter,  so 
that  as  he  shrank  into  the  furthest  part  possible, 
the  thought  came  to  him  that  there  was  room  for 
two  or  three  more  beside  him.  The  interior  was 
as  dark  as  night,  the  faint  sunlight  penetrating 
only  a  few  inches  within  the  opening  by  which  the 
fugitive  had  made  his  way  into  the  strange  retreat. 

The  instant  he  was  backed  against  the  other 
side  of  the  trunk,  he  crouched  down  so  as  to 
place  his  head  below  the  possible  range  of  light, 


THB   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  191 

and  waited  for  the  Iroquois  to  come  and  take 
him ;  for  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  there  was 
no  use  of  resistance,  while,  by  surrendering,  he 
might  gain  time  for  the  Mohawk  to  help  him  out 
The  lad  had  scarcely  taken  his  positin,  when  he 
noticed  a  spider  busily  engaged  in  spreading  its 
net  across  the  door  through  which  he  had  come. 

"I  suppose  I  ruined  some  of  his  work  when  I 
entered  in  such  a  hurry,"  was  the  thought  of  the 
boy,  "and  he  is  in  haste  to  repair  his  house." 

All  this,  it  will  be  understood,  occupied  but  a 
very  few  seconds.  As  the  Iroquois  had  not  abated 
their  pursuit  in  the  least,  Jo  was  scarcely  given 
time  to  notice  the  singular  work  of  the  spider, 
when  he  heard  the  patter  of  the  moccasins  on  the 
leaves,  showing  that  they  were  close  at  hand  and 
making  straight  for  his  hiding-place. 

The  lad  felt  the  faintest  possible  hope  that  the 
redtnen  might  run  by  without  noticing  the  open- 
ing in  the  tree,  as  it  was  not  noticeable  until  they 
were  nearly  opposite  or  beyond.  But  this  hope 
was  dissipated  the  next  moment,  when  the  sounds 
of  the  feet  showed  they  had  stopped  running  and 
were  walking— a  thing  they  would  not  do  if  they 
believed  the  young  scout  still  on  the  wing. 


192  THB    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

They  had  observed  the  large  tree  with  its  Invit- 
ing opening  and  were  too  wise  to  pass  it  without 
examination;  but,  to  the  great  surprise  of  Jo,  he 
heard  them  speaking  not  in  their  own  tongue,  but 
in  broken  English. 

"He  go  in  dere,"  said  one,  no  doubt  referring  to 
the  hole. 

"Yes,  we  got  him,"  assented  another.  "He  run 
hard,  he  crawl  in  dere  to  rest — we  make  him 
rest." 

The  warriors  no  doubt  spoke  in  this  tongue  that 
the  cowering  fugitive  might  understand  them, 
and  suffer  all  the  agony  of  one  who  feels  that  his 
doom  cannot  be  averted.  They  indulged  in  several 
more  observations,  relating  mainly  to  what  they 
intended  to  do  when  they  should  haul  the  poor 
"Yankee  Dog"  from  his  hiding-place.  The  boy 
suffered  death  over  and  over  again,  and  wished 
they  would  draw  him  forth  and  end  his  terrible 
suspense.  He  even  meditated  rising,  crawling  out 
and  surrendering  to  them. 

The  dreadful  trial  lasted  but  a  few  minutes  when 
one  of  the  Iroquois  advanced  and  looked  in. 
Standing  in  the  light  as  he  did,  his  painted  face 
was  brought  out  in  relief,  and  Jo  was  sure  that  in 
his  experience  of  the  past  few  days  he  had  not  seen 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  193 

anything  to  compare  with  it  in  hideous  atrocity 
of  expression.  Before  this  warrior  said  anything 
more,  he  thrust  his  head  into  the  opening,  with  a 
Tiew  of  examining  the  interior  and  satisfying  him- 
self of  the  precise  position  of  their  Tictim.  As  he 
leaned  forward  with  this  purpose,  the  gauzy  web 
that  had  been  spun  across  the  fissure  crossed  his 
nose,  and  he  drew  back,  straightened  up,  and 
pinched  the  meshes  between  his  fingers,  calling  the 
attention  of  the  others  to  the  fact,  using  the  lan- 
guage this  time  of  his  own  people. 

His  companions  gathered  about  him,  and  for  a 
few  minutes  there  was  an  earnest  consultation. 
The  youngest  boy  knows,  that,  as  a  rule,  the 
spider's  web,  when  torn  away,  is  not  instantly 
replaced— certainly  not  when  the  author  of  the 
ruin  is  at  hand  and  ready  to  repeat  the  destruc- 
tion; and  so,  when  we  see  an  abundance  of  spider 
webs,  we  take  it  as  evidence  that  the  place  has  not 
been  disturbed  very  recently.  And  this  was  the 
exact  conclusion  reached  by  the  Iroquois  when 
they  observed  that  the  hole  in  the  trunk  was 
crossed  by  the  meshes  of  a  spider's  web.  Nothing 
was  plainer  to  them  than  that  this  retreat  had 
not  been  visited  by  any  one  for  some  time  past. 
The  fugitive  whom  they  were  hunting  must  have 


194  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

gone  by,  and  was  still  running  for  life,  while  they 
were  frittering  away  their  time  under  the  belief 
that  they  were  adding  to  his  misery.  The  web 
convinced  them  that  they  had  made  a  blunder, 
and,  without  pausing  for  further  examination  of 
the  hiding-place,  they  resumed  the  pursuit  with 
greater  vigor  than  before. 

Jo  Minturn,  therefore,  was  saved  by  a  spider 
web.  The  young  fugitive  could  scarcely  believe 
what  had  taken  place  until  the  Iroquois  were  gone 
and  he  was  left  alone.  The  cause  of  their  mistake 
was  too  apparent  to  be  overlooked. 

Waiting  a  few  minutes,  he  peeped  out  of  the 
opening,  and,  seeing  a  clear  coast,  lost  no  time  in 
crawling  forth  from  such  quarters  and  leaving  the 
vicinity. 

"That  was  a  wonderful  escape,"  he  thought,  as 
he  walked  along.  "It  does  seem  that  Providence 
interferes  in  a  way  that  no  one  could  dream  of. 
Ten  minutes  ago  I  didn't  believe  there  was  any 
possible  means  for  me  to  get  out,  except  by  a  mira- 
cle, and  it  came." 

God  helps  those  who  help  themselves,  and  Jo 
tried  hard  to  remember  that  danger  was  on  every 
hand,  and  it  was  never  safe  to  forget  it  for  a 
moment.  The  most  natural  course  for  him  to  fol- 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  195 

low  was  to  make  his  way  back  to  where  he  had 
left  his  sister,  and  this  he  proceeded  to  do  at  once. 
He  remembered  the  place  so  well  that  there  could 
be  no  mistake,  and  he  was  in  high  spirits,  anxious 
to  tell  his  good  fortune  before  he  started  in  quest 
of  Lena-Wingo  and  Ned  Clinton.  He  reached  the 
spot  in  a  short  time,  but  his  consternation  knew 
no  bounds  when  he  made  the  discovery  that  she 
was  not  there  I 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ALL  ABROAD. 

YOUNG  Mintttrn  was  taken  all  aback  when  he 
reached  the  margin  of  the  Susquehanna,  at  the 
precise  spot  where  he  had  left  his  sister,  only  to 
discover  that  she  was  gone. 

"She  promised  she  would  not  stir  from  here, 
unless  she  was  forced  to  do  so,"  he  said  to  himself, 
after  repeating  the  hunt  several  times,  "and  it 
must  have  been  some  danger  that  drove  her 
away." 

Hoping  that  she  might  be  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity,  he  ventured  to  pronounce  her  name  sev- 
eral times  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard  a  few 
rods  off,  but  he  was  apprehensive  of  the  result  of 
such  a  course,  and  did  not  keep  it  up  very  long. 
Nothing  of  the  nature  of  a  response  was  heard, 
and  the  conviction  was  inevitable  that  she  had 
gone — who  could  say  where  ?  The  most  natural 
supposition  was  that  some  of  the  Iroquois,  who 
seemed  to  be  everywhere,  had  been  guided  by  evil 
fortune  to  her  hiding-place,  and  had  taken  her 

196 


THE   RIYBR    FUGITIVES.  197 

captive.  The  thought  was  disheartening,  but  the 
anguish  smitten  brother  was  helpless  and  without 
any  power,  so  far  as  he  could  see,  to  help  her.  He 
could  not  make  sure  even  of  the  direction  taken  by 
her  and  her  captors.  There  remained  the  faint  hope 
that  she  had  discovered  the  approach  of  peril  in 
time  to  take  refuge  elsewhere,  and  that  as  soon  as 
her  enemies  were  gone,  would  return  to  her  old 
concealment.  It  was  this  hope  that  prevented 
the  brother  from  leaving  the  spot,  and  threw  him 
into  an  agony  of  doubt  as  to  what  he  ought 
to  do. 

The  passage  of  each  minute  caused  this  pos- 
sibility to  become  less  and  less,  until  at  the  end  of 
half  an  hour  scarcely  any  remained.  The  poor 
fellow  was  in  a  most  distressing  quandary.  A  lit- 
tle while  before  it  seemed  that  he  was  the  only 
one  who  was  in  a  situation  from  which  there  was 
no  escape,  and  now  it  appeared  to  him  that  he 
was  the  sole  member  of  the  little  party  who  was 
actually  safe  from  the  Tories  and  Indians.  He 
had  not  been  able,  as  yet,  to  go  to  the  help  of 
Ned  Clinton  and  Lena-Wingo,  and  therefore  could 
know  nothing  about  the  manner  in  which  they 
had  gotten  out  of  the  beleaguered  building.  Much 
as  they  might  need  his  aid,  he  felt  that  his  sister 


198  THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

possessed  the  first  claim,  as  they  themselves  would 
insist,  if  they  knew  all. 

He  made  as  careful  examination  of  the  ground 
as  he  knew  how,  in  the  hope  of  gaining  some 
inkling  of  what  had  taken  place,  but  his  experi- 
ence in  the  forest  was  not  sufficient  to  read  these 
signs  as  Lena- Wingo  would  have  done,  had  he  been 
present.  The  leaves  were  rumpled  as  if  by  the 
passage  of  several  feet,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
distinguish  whether  it  was  done  by  those  of  a 
lady,  himself,  or  an  enemy. 

"I  don't  see  that  I  can  do  anything,"  he 
reflected,  after  his  suspense  had  continued  for  half 
an  hour;  "I  shall  have  to  wait  till  Ned  and  the 
Mohawk  come  here,  or  hunt  them  myself,  and  get 
them  to  help  me  out." 

It  was  past  noon,  and  he  looked  upon  the 
approach  of  night  with  a  dread  impossible  to 
describe. 

"If  she  isn't  found  before  dark,"  he  added, 
sitting  down  upon  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  in 
gloomy  reverie,  "I  shall  make  up  my  mind  that  it 
is  all  over  with  the  poor  girl.  The  idea  of  her  being 
in  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois  is  enough  to  drive 
me  wild.  Colonel  Butler  has  sent  them  to  hunt 
for  her,  and  as  like  as  not,  they  won't  take  her 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  199 

back  to  him.  They  are  so  enraged  against  all  the 
settlers  in  the  valley  that  they  will  tomahawk 
her  as  they  have  done  many  a  time  when  given 
prisoners  to  bring  in." 

The  brother,  it  will  be  seen,  was  lifted  from  the 
highest  ground  of  hope,  only  to  be  thrown  into 
the  lowest  depths  of  gloom  and  despair.  The 
thought  that  he  was  powerless  to  do  anything 
to  help  his  beloved  sister  was  almost  unbearable. 
If  there  was  any  way,  no  matter  how  desperate, 
for  him  to  strike  a  blow  for  her,  he  would  seize  it 
at  once;  but,  as  it  was,  he  could  only  wait  and 
pray  for  some  such  opening  to  come  to  him. 
When  this  suspense  had  lasted  a  half  hour  longer, 
it  became  intolerable,  and  he  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"What's  the  use?"  he  exclaimed.  "I  may  stay 
here  all  day  and  night,  and  that  will  be  all  there 
is  of  it.  If  Red  Jack  won't  come  to  me,  I'll  go  to 
him." 

And  with  this  determination,  he  strode  off  in  the 
direction  from  which  came  the  shots  heard  some 
time  before.  He  walked  hurriedly,  for,  since  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  take  this  course,  he  was 
impatient  with  himself  that  he  had  delayed  so 
long  in  setting  about  it.  There  could  be  no 
mistake  about  the  route  he  ought  to  pursue,  and 


300  THB   RIVER    FUGITIVE*. 

he  did  not  forget  the  lesson  learned  from  the 
spider's  web.  Despite  his  haste,  he  kept  a  sharp 
watch  for  enemies,  and  now  and  then  came  to  a 
halt,  that  he  might  look  and  listen  the  better. 

"I  don't  hear  or  see  anything  of  them,"  he 
added,  when  he  had  paused  in  this  manner  some 
six  or  eight  times ;  "but  that's  no  proof  that  a 
score  of  them  are  not  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
this  very  spot,  waiting  till  I  walk  into  some  of 
their  traps.  I  wish  the  Mohawk  would  show 
up,  for  if  his  help  was  ever  needed,  now  is  the 
time." 

Picking  his  way  in  this  careful  fashion,  it  was 
not  long  before  he  became  aware  that  he  was 
approaching  an  open  space,  probably  the  very 
house  and  clearing  he  was  seeking.  A  few  rods 
further,  and  he  stopped,  for  he  had  penetrated  as 
far  as  seemed  prudent,  and  was  looking  upon  the 
very  dwelling  from  which  Rosa  had  escaped  by 
such  a  narrow  chance,  and  where  the  Mohawk, 
Lena-Wingo,  had  stood  at  bay  before  eight 
Iroquois,  until  the  diversion  created  by  the  com- 
ing of  Ned  Clinton  gave  him  the  chance  to  flee.  Jo 
identified  it  from  the  description  received  from 
his  sister,  as  well  as  from  his  own  knowledge  of 
its  location. 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  201 

"I  don't  see  anything  of  them,"  he  said  to  him- 
self, after  watching  the  building  a  short  time.  "I 
wonder  whether  the  scout  has  given  them  the 
slip,  or  whether  they  have  him  locked  in  there?  " 

While  he  was  wondering  what  the  stillness  that 
hung  over  everything  could  mean,  he  made  the 
alarming  discovery  that  there  were  at  least  a 
score  of  Iroquois  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  with 
undoubted  designs  upon  the  house.  These  were 
the  reinforcements  for  which  the  small  party 
that  received  the  repulse  had  gone,  and  they  were 
now  on  hand.  As  good  fortune  would  have  it, 
most  of  them  were  on  the  side  of  the  wood  nearly 
opposite  to  where  the  lad  was  standing,  well 
screened  by  the  trees.  So  long,  therefore,  as  he 
exercised  ordinary  prudence,  he  could  keep  out  of 
their  way  and  watch  their  proceedings. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Jo  had  not  been 
given  any  chance  to  learn  of  the  clever  style  in 
which  the  smaller  party  was  repulsed  by  Lena- 
Wingo  and  Ned  Clinton,  and  he  was  held  to  the 
spot  by  his  anxiety  as  to  the  fate  of  both.  If  the 
two  were  in  the  house,  then  it  was  very  plain  to  him 
that  they  were  to  go  through  the  hardest  kind  of 
struggle  to  escape  their  enemies,  and  it  looked  as 
if  he  was  likely  to  play  a  part  in  the  programme. 


202  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

"If  Jack  is  there,"  he  muttered,  as  he  scrutinized 
the  tipper  windows,  "he  must  know  that  the 
Iroquois  are  here,  and  I  am  surprised  that  he 
doesn't  give  them  a  shot,  just  to  wake  them  up." 

A  few  minutes  after  the  redmen  who  were  steal- 
ing along  the  other  side  of  the  clearing,  sent  in 
three  or  four  shots,  designed  to  bring  out  a  reply 
from  the  garrison — a  desire  which  our  readers  will 
understand  could  not  be  gratified,  for  the  best  of 
reasons.  In  a  little  while  two  guns  were  dis- 
charged from  another  point,  but  as  before,  the 
marksmen  looked  in  vain  for  the  response  thereto. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

BEHIND  THE  TREES. 

Jo  watched  the  proceedings  before  him  with  the 
closest  interest,  for  they  concerned  his  friends,  and 
indirectly  his  missing  sister.  To  the  young  scout, 
the  silence  of  the  Mohawk  and  Ned  Clinton  was 
inexplicable,  except  on  the  theory  that  they  had 
escaped  from  the  house  by  some  means  unknown 
to  the  redmen  themselves.  Had  he  but  understood 
how  the  assailants  had  acted,  he  could  have  had 
no  doubt  on  that  point.  As  it  was,  the  belief 
became  almost  a  certainty,  when  another  volley 
was  fired  by  the  Iroquois  without  producing  any 
response  from  the  house  of  the  settler. 

No  doubt,  the  same  suspicion  was  taking  shape 
in  the  minds  of  the  warriors,  for  they  gradually 
became  more  bold,  and  finally  took  little  care  to 
shelter  themselves  behind  the  trees  to  which  they 
had  clung  so  tenaciously  at  the  opening  of  the 
fight.  A  half  dozen  emerged  from  the  wood,  and 
walked  directly  out  upon  the  clearing,  as  if  invit- 
ing the  garrison  to  fire  upon  them  if  they  dared* 

203 


204  THE    RIYKR    FUGITIVES. 

Had  Lena-Wingo  been  there,  he  would  have 
allowed  such  a  challenge  to  pass  unnoticed.  The 
fact  that  the  stillness  was  continued  unbroken 
from  the  house  made  them  bolder  than  ever. 

More  issued  from  the  forest  until  the  whole 
twenty  were  in  view,  and  then  several,  rifle  in 
hand,  walked  toward  the  building,  never  pausing 
till  they  were  within  the  yard,  at  which  time  they 
indulged  in  further  scrutiny  of  the  structure  before 
entering.  Jo  saw  the  leader  suddenly  make  a  dash 
within,  and  the  others  followed,  as  if  they  were  a 
flock  of  sheep.  They  were  not  very  quiet,  either, 
for  in  the  stillness  of  the  summer  afternoon  the 
watcher  could  hear  them  tramping  through  the 
interior.  In  a  short  time  they  made  a  thorough 
survey  of  all  the  rooms,  when  a  number  appeared 
at  the  upper  window.  From  the  latter  came  a 
dismal  howl, — one  of  disappointment,-— for  they 
had  made  the  discovery  that  the  birds  had  flown, 
having  executed  the  not  very  brilliant  maneuver 
of  getting  out  when  the  chance  was  given  them. 

The  young  scout  knew  as  well  as  they  what  the 
outcry  meant,  and  it  showed  him  there  was  no 
further  occasion  for  his  staying  there.  He  paused 
a  moment,  however,  to  see  how  the  Iroquois  would 
take  their  disappointment,  and  he  was  not  com* 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  306 

pelled  to  wait  long.  In  a  short  time  they  set  fire 
to  the  hotise,  which,  being  made  entirely  of  wood, 
while  the  weather  was  very  dry,  burned  with 
great  rapidity,  and  another  landmark  was  left  to 
show  where  the  Indians  of  Colonel  Butler  had 
united  with  the  Tories  in  the  desolation  of  the  fair 
valley  of  Wyoming. 

Jo  did  not  wait  longer,  as  time  was  preciotts, 
and  the  most  important  thing  he  could  do  was  to 
hunt  up  the  Mohawk,  and  appeal  to  him  in  turn 
to  hunt  tip  Rosa.  There  were  no  means  of  deter- 
mining which  way  the  red  scout  had  gone.  But, 
believing  it  likely  that  he  would  manage  to  make 
his  way  to  the  place  where  the  girl  had  been  left  in 
hiding,  the  distressed  brother  started  in  that 
direction. 

"I  don't  see  that  there  is  any  use  of  my  trying 
to  do  anything,"  he  muttered,  forgetting,  in  his 
own  misery,  the  wonderful  manner  in  which  he  had 
been  extricated  from  a  greater  danger  than  that 
which  probably  hung  over  his  sister.  "Ned  and 
the  Mohawk  have  got  away,  that's  pretty  sure, 
but  how  it  is  to  help  Rosa  is  more  than  I  can 
understand.  They  are  likely  to  go  tramping 
about  the  woods  till  night  comes  again,  and  by 
that  time  Butler  will  have  her,  if  he  has  n't  now. 


206  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

I  don't  know  as  the  Mohawk  could  have  man- 
aged  better,"  he  added,  more  reflectively,  feeling 
a  little  compunction  lest  he  should  wrong  the 
faithful  Lena- Wingo,  even  in  thought.  "Colonel 
Denison  tells  me  that  Butler  has  taken  a  fancy  to 
Rosa,  and  is  determined  to  get  his  hands  on  her, 
so  as  to  take  her  from  us.  He  is  wicked  enough 
to  do  anything,  and  where  he  has  so  many  Tories 
and  Indians  to  help  him,  I  do  n't  see  that  we  have 
much  chance  to  beat  him.  If  we  manage  to  get 
over  the  Susquehanna,  I  do  n't  know  as  we'll  be 
safe  at  Wilkesbarre,  for  they  may  follow  us  there, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  prevent  their  taking  the 
place  just  as  they  swooped  down  on  Wyoming— " 
How  much  longer  this  gloomy  soliloquy  would 
have  continued  it  is  hard  to  say,  had  it  not  been 
broken  in  upon  by  an  outsider.  The  young  man 
had  paused  and  was  leaning  against  a  tree,  when 
a  rustling  among  the  leaves  a  short  distance 
ahead  warned  him  that  he  was  not  alone.  With- 
out waiting  to  finish  his  remark,  he  sprang  behind 
the  trunk,  so  as  to  interpose  it  between  him  and 
the  stranger.  That  the  latter  was  a  redskin, 
fully  as  cautious  as  the  young  scout  himself,  was 
shown  by  his  action;  for  he,  too,  leaped  to  cover, 
vanishing  as  suddenly  as  if  the  earth  had  opened 


THB    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  207 

and  swallowed  him  up.  This  was  proof,  too, 
that  the  Indian  was  as  quick  to  detect  danger  as 
was  the  white,  and,  sheltered  now  behind  the 
tree,  he  was  also  as  ready  as  him  for  the 
encounter. 

Jo  was  apprehensive  of  the  result  of  a  struggle 
like  this,  for  he  knew  how  stealthily  and  cau- 
tiously one  of  these  savage  enemies  would  fight 
for  the  mastery.  It  was  not  at  all  unlikely  that 
the  Indian  would  keep  out  of  sight  till  dark. 
Unless  he  could  take  the  lad  off  his  guard  before 
that  time,  he  would  watch  every  movement  of 
the  adversary  for  hours  never  relaxing  his  vigi- 
lance, and  ready  to  fire  as  soon  as  the  slightest 
chance  was  given.  Jo  did  not  fancy  the  prospect 
of  staying  there  till  night,  and  he  determined  to 
leave,  if  possible. 

His  first  essay  to  draw  the  fire  of  his  enemy  was 
the  old  one  which  all  our  readers  have  heard  long 
ago.  He  placed  his  cap  on  the  end  of  his  ramrod 
and  shoved  it  just  far  enough  from  behind  the 
tree  to  make  it  appear  that  the  owner  was  trying 
to  take  a  peep  at  his  enemy,  thereby  exposing  his 
head  to  his  marksmanship.  But  it  wouldn't 
work.  In  common  language,  the  artifice  was 
"too  thin"  to  deceive  the  wary  redskin  pitted 


308  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

against  Him.  No  answering  shot  told  the  youth 
that  the  barrel  of  his  enemy's  gun  was  empty, 
and  he  had  only  to  rush  out  and  shoot  him  before 
he  could  reload.  The  Indian  continued  silent  and 
invisible,  and  the  conviction  stole  over  Jo  thai  he 
mttst  take  a  new  tack. 

The  temptation  to  indulge  in  a  stolen  glance  at 
the  warrior  was  too  great  to  be  resisted ;  and, 
determined  not  to  allow  his  curiosity  to  get  the 
better  of  his  caution,  the  lad  moved  his  head  Tery 
slowly  forward,  so  as  to  permit  the  faintest 
possible  look  at  the  place  where  his  foe  had  taken 
refuge.  The  tree  was  a  large  one — larger,  indeed, 
than  his  own,  and  the  distance  between  the  two 
was  over  a  hundred  yards,  so  that  if  the  youth 
should  gain  a  chance  to  shoot  his  adversary,  it 
was  all -import  ant  to  make  his  aim  accurate,  it 
being  evident  that  a  miss  in  a  case  like  this  would 
be  equivalent  to  receiving  the  bullet  of  his  foe. 
After  a  few  minutes'  careful  maneuvering,  Jo 
got  his  head  so  far  around  the  tree  that  one  eye 
was  fixed  on  the  trunk  behind  which  the  savage 
was  standing. 

Nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  him,  though  there 
could  be  no  doubt  the  warrior  was  there.  The 
invisibility  of  the  redskin  did  not  tempt  the  young 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  209 

man  into  exposing  any  more  of  himself  to  his  aim 
than  he  could  avoid.  What  threatened  to  become 
a  contest  of  mere  watchfulness,  and  thereby 
monotonous  in  spite  of  its  dangerous  nature, 
proved  to  be  much  shorter  than  Jo  anticipated. 
He  had  not  gazed  long  in  the  direction  of  his  foe, 
when  he  was  certain  he  detected  a  movement 
behind  the  tree  itself — that  is,  beyond  where  ft 
would  be  supposed  the  warrior  was  standing. 

Precisely  what  it  was  he  could  not  determine, 
but  was  certain  that  something  was  going  on  in 
which  he  was  interested,  and  which  he  ought  to 
understand.  The  impression  made  upon  the  lad 
was  aa  if  the  shadow  of  some  bird  or  animal 
had  flashed  before  his  eyes.  He  had  not  a  partick 
of  doubt  that  it  bore  some  relation  to  a  maneuver 
of  the  Indian,  and  that  his  life,  perhaps,  depended 
upon  his  learning  what  it  was  and  preparing 
against  it.  All  that  he  could  do  was  to  keep  tip 
an  unremitting  watch,  in  the  hope  of  discovering 
something  more,  which  would  explain  what  it 
meant.  This  watch  continued  less  than  fifteen 
minutes,  when  it  ended  in  the  complete  success  of 
the  stratagem  of  the  redman. 


CHAPTER  XXVJIL 

THE  DEPTH  OF  SORROW. 

YOUNG  Minturn  did  not  see  the  movement  which 
puzzled  him  so  much  repeated,  and  of  which  he 
caught  such  an  unsatisfactory  glimpse.  The  reason 
why  it  was  not  done  again  was  because  once  was 
sufficient.  The  Indian's  purpose  was  to  steal  from 
behind  the  tree,  and  reach  another  position  that 
would  command  that  of  the  youth.  He  had  there- 
fore made  a  backward  movement,  almost  flat  on 
the  ground,  and,  by  a  series  of  skillfully  managed 
maneuvers,  took  a  circuitous  and  stealthy  march 
to  the  right,  describing  an  arc  of  thirty  degrees  at 
least,  and  executing  it  with  so  much  care  that  he 
was  not  only  undetected,  but  was  not  even  sus- 
pected of  any  such  intent.  When  the  warrior  rose 
to  his  feet  again,  he  stood  almost  behind  the  young 
scout,  and  in  a  position  to  enable  him  to  send  the 
bullet  of  his  rifle  crashing  through  his  skull.  The 
first  warning  that  Jo  received  of  his  danger,  was 
the  crack  of  a  gun  from  the  rear,  and  the  bullet 
chipped  off  the  bark  within  an  inch  of  his  face. 

210 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  211 

"  You've  missed,"  called  out  the  lad,  "and  now 
take  the  consequents ! " 

But  the  next  mimtte  he  changed  his  mind,  and 
concluded  he  would  not  fire  at  all.  The  Indian 
was  in  full  view,  and  it  looked  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  world  to  bring  him  down,  but  the  trouble  was 
that  the  redman  standing  before  him  was  Lena- 
Wingo,  the  Mohawk.  The  scout  had  indulged  in 
this  sport  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  skill  of  his 
young  friend,  and  with  the  object  of  teaching  him 
a  thing  or  two. 

In  leaving  the  tree  in  the  first  place,  he  had  done 
it  with  the  intention  of  giving  Jo  an  inkling  of 
what  he  was  about,  but  the  lesson  was  rather  too 
"advanced"  for  the  pupil  to  comprehend  at  the 
time.  The  painted  face  was  one  broad  grin,  as  the 
Mohawk  witnessed  the  amazement  of  the  lad,  who 
stared  in  speechless  astonishment. 

"Why,  Jack,  is  that  you?"  he  exclaimed,  when 
his  wits  came  back  to  him.  "I've  been  hunting 
for  you,  and  would  have  given  the  world,  if  I 
could,  to  have  met  you  awhile  ago." 

"I'm  here— what  young  man  want?* 

"Where is  Rosa?" 

Jo  expected  a  favorable  answer,  so  great  was 
his  trust  in  the  wonderful  skill  of  the  Mohawk; 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

but  the  expression  of  his  thin  face,  through  its 
paint,  told  him  the  dreadful  tidings  before  he 
answered. 

"Lena-Wingo  does  not  know— thinked  she  be 
with  you." 

"0,  Heavens! "  wailed  the  brother,  almost  fall- 
ing to  the  earth  in  his  great  grief;  "then  the  Iro- 
quois  have  her  I " 

"  What's  that  you  say  ?  " 

It  was  Ned  Clinton  who  asked  the  question,  as 
he  sprang  from  behind  another  tree,  where  he  had 
been  watching  the  little  game  of  his  friend  the 
Mohawk. 

"Rosa  is  gone! "  was  the  faint  response. 
Ned  clutched  his  arm,  and  hoarsely  demanded : 

"  How  is  this  ?    Tell  us  about  it ! " 

"Yes— tell  all— be  quick,"  added  Lena-Wingo, 
mastering  his  emotion  in  a  way  that  he  had  learned 
in  years  of  the  most  bitter  kind  of  experience. 
"  Be  quick-tell  all." 

As  soon  as  Jo  could  command  his  feelings  suffi- 
ciently to  speak  with  anything  like  coherence,  he 
related  what  the  reader  has  learned  long  since. 
While  he  spoke,  the  others  listened  with  an  inten- 
sity of  interest  that  cannot  be  described,  for  the 
tidings  was  new  to  both. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  216 

After  Ned  and  Red  Jack  got  clear  of  the  hotise, 
it  will  be  recalled  that  they  set  out  in  quest  of  their 
friend  Jo.  Various  difficulties  conspired  to  pre- 
vent their  getting  on  his  track,  and  feeling  no 
doubt  that  the  girl  was  somewhere  in  the  safe 
keeping  of  her  brother,  it  was  their  intention  to 
delay  the  crossing  of  the  Susquehanna  until  dark. 
This  theory  will  explain  why  it  was  that  when 
they  did  catch  sight  of  Jo,  they  felt  warranted  in 
taking  time  for  the  little  test  we  have  described. 

It  might  well  be  a  question  which  of  the  three 
individuals  suffered  the  most  from  the  uncertainty 
of  the  fate  of  Rosa  Minturn.  The  brother  was 
smitten  to  the  earth  by  sorrow  over  what  seemed 
to  be  the  loss  of  one  of  the  dearest  and  best 
sisters  that  was  ever  given  to  a  lad.  Ned  Clinton 
was  of  that  age  when,  under  the  dawnings  of  a 
young  love,  a  pure  and  holy  halo  wrapped  the 
maiden  in  all  his  dreams  by  night  as  well  as  by 
day.  What  though  the  gentle  passion  that 
pervaded  and  warmed  with  its  vivifying  glow  his 
whole  nature  had  never  found  expression  from  his 
lips,  even  to  his  dearest  friend — what  though  the 
sweet  imaginings  that  came  to  him  in  the  stillness 
of  the  night,  in  the  glare  of  the  noonday,  when  in 
the  wild  tumult  of  battle,  when  he  was  swimming 


216  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

in  the  darkness  the  broad  Susquehanna,  or  when 
threading  his  way  through  the  trackless  forest—- 
what though  these  visions  of  his  love,  in  all  their 
entrancing  beauty,  were  considered  too  sacred  to 
be  whispered  to  any  mortal  ?  They  were  none 
the  less  real  and  soul-stirring  for  all  that.  The 
grief  that  smote  the  brave  youth  was  like  the 
sweep  of  the  cyclone,  which  brings  low  the  tallest 
oak  of  the  wilderness. 

It  seemed  that  he  must  die  if  the  girl  was 
taken  from  him,  either  by  death  or  the  still  ruder 
hand  of  the  sacrilegious  Tory  chief.  How  eagerly 
he  had  entered  into  the  struggle  of  the  colonies 
for  their  freedom,  impelled  not  alone  by  his  patri- 
otism, which  of  itself  was  of  the  most  exalted 
character,  but  spurred  on  also  by  the  hope  that 
when  the  independence  of  his  dear  country  was 
gained — as  gained  it  would  surely  be — it  would  be 
his  blissful  pleasure  to  come  back  to  Wyoming 
Talley,  and,  beating  his  sword  into  the  plowshare, 
hear  from  Rosa  the  thrilling  words: 

"Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant!  You 
have  earned  the  love  I  now  give  you." 

This  was  the  ambition  of  the  sturdy  youth, 
and,  to  see  its  realization,  he  was  ready  to  brave 
danger,  hardship,  and  death  itself.  And  now, 


THE    RIYBR    PUGITIYB8.  217 

when  on  the  threshold  of  the  career  he  had 
marked  out  for  himself,  to  have  the  whole  fabric 
swept  away  by  the  remorseless  hand  of  fate  was 
a  blow  which  he  could  not  bear!  But  he  could 
tell  his  sorrow  to  no  one,  for  he  knew  that  no  one 
could  appreciate  it. 

Little  did  he  dream  that  his  friend,  Jo  Mintttrn, 
suspected  his  secret,  and  perhaps  it  was  as  well 
that  he  knew  it  not.  He  must  keep  his  over- 
whelming sorrow  to  and  within  himself.  More 
than  that,  he  must  so  act  that  no  one  could  learn 
its  existence.  It  was  an  almost  superhuman  task, 
but  the  stuff  in  the  young  patriot  was  that  of 
which  heroes  are  made,  and  he  resolved  that  it 
should  be  done. 

And  much  less  could  Lena-Wingo,  the  Mohawk 
scout  and  tried  friend  of  the  whites,  impart  his 
anguish  to  any  confidant.  There  are  curious 
ambitions  in  this  world,  leading  men  by  different 
paths  to  face  all  manner  of  peril  and  death. 
Years  had  now  passed  since  he  had  fores  worn  his 
own  race,  and  devoted  his  life  to  proving  himself 
an  ally  of  the  whites,  and  he  had  pursued  that 
single  course  until  it  was  the  sole  aim  and  object 
of  his  existence — the  goal  to  reach  which  he  bent 
all  the  energies  of  a  nature  peculiarly  fitted  for 


3ttr8  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 


a  work.  In  ways  innumerable  had  he 
proven  his  affection,  until  affection  itself  was  for- 
gotten in  the  great  passion.  When  he  undertook 
a  task  for  the  white  settlers,  he  would  suffer 
nothing  to  divert  him  therefrom.  Hunger,  thirst, 
hardship,  danger,  sickness,  disaster,  gloom,  storm, 
and  sunshine,  were  all  the  same  to  him  when  once 
started  on  the  path  he  laid  out  for  himself. 

To  the  Mohawk,  failure  was  more  ignominious 
than  death.  Having  started  for  Wilkesbarrewith 
the  declaration  that  he  would  take  Rosa  there,  he 
was  confronted  by  the  prospect  of  an  utter  over- 
throw of  his  plans.  No  earthly  disgrace  could  be 
greater.  If  defeated  in  his  purpose,  he  felt  he 
would  not  be  fit  to  show  his  face  among  men  again, 
and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he  would  ever  be 
•ecu  more  if  it  should  be  that  he  was  to  prove 
tumble  to  keep  the  pledge  he  had  made  to  the 
patents  of  the  missing  maiden. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GROPING  IN  THE  FOREST. 

WE  have  omitted  to  tell  one  motive  that,  hi  the 
case  of  the  Mohawk  scout,  would  have  led  him  to 
brave  anything  for  the  sake  of  saving  Rosa  Min- 
turn,  and  that  was  the  affection  he  entertained 
for  her.  No  nature,  however  rugged  and  seem- 
ingly heartless,  is  without  a  tender  spot  which  m 
susceptible  to  the  gentler  influences  that  distin- 
guish man  from  the  brute.  While  Lena-Wmjajo 
was  ready  at  all  times  to  do  what  in  him  lay  for 
the  good  of  the  whites,  there  were  necessarily  a 
few  upon  whom  he  looked  with  a  peculiar  and 
unusual  friendship. 

Rosa  Minturn  was  one  of  these— precisely  why, 
it  would  be  hard  to  tell,  more  than  it  would  be  to 
explain  the  birth  and  growth  of  love  itself  in  the 
heart  of  Ned  Clinton.  It  may  have  been  because 
the  warrior  had  always  been  a  favored  guest  in 
the  family,  that  he  had  seen  her  grow  up  from 
infancy;  had  played  with  her  from  the  time  she 
began  to  walk,  had  taken  her  with  him  on  many 

219 


220  THE    RIVER    FUGITIYBS. 

an  excursion  in  the  great  wilderness  that  at  that 
day  surrounded  the  lovely  valley  of  Wyoming; 
but  more  probable  that  in  the  nature  of  the  beau- 
tiful child  there  was  something  akin  to  his  own. 
There  was  a  certain  innate  bravery  of  disposition, 
a  self-possession  in  trying  circumstances,  a  nim- 
bleness  of  foot  and  limb,  a  power  to  withstand 
fatigue,  a  love  for  the  free,  untrammeled  life  of  the 
woods,  and  daring,  resolute  character,  which 
never  transgressed  true  feminine  and  modest 
bounds,  that  made  her  a  maiden  above  all  others 
in  his  estimation. 

At  the  risk  of  being  misunderstood,  it  may  be 
said  that  when  the  Mohawk  left  the  house  of  Lor- 
imer  Minturn,  near  Forty  Fort,  he  was  in  no  hurry 
to  reach  Wilkesbarre.  In  the  first  place,  he  believed 
there  was  no  doubt  that  the  refuge  would  be  made 
without  trouble.  In  short,  he  never  considered 
anything  more  certain  than  that  they  would 
arrive  there  in  spite  of  all  that  Colonel  Butler  and 
his  allies  could  do  to  prevent  it.  The  journey 
itself  he  looked  upon  in  the  nature  of  an  excur- 
sion, and,  well  aware  of  the  grit  of  the  girl,  he 
meant  that  she  should  have  a  taste  of  frontier  life 
such  as  she  had  never  known  before.  Although  a 
fair  construction  of  the  mishap  might  acquit  the 


R1YBR    FUGITIVES.  221 

Mohawk  of  all  culpability,  still  he  looked  upon 
himself  as  the  sole  author  of  the  calamity. 

Within  a  tenth  of  the  time  taken  to  tell  the 
story,  Lena-Wingo  had  decided  on  his  course  of 
action.  The  red  hero  had  been  trained  in  the  ways 
of  his  people  too  long  to  allow  any  one  to  read  in 
his  face  the  workings  of  his  mind. 

When  Jo  Minturn  had  finished  his  short 
account  of  what  had  befallen  him,  Lena-Wingo 
was  as  calm  as  when  he  stood  in  the  house  of  the 
missing  one  the  night  before,  discussing  their 
plans  with  her  parents  and  with  Colonel  Denison. 
He  marked  the  woe  that  crushed  the  hearts  of  his 
two  companions,  but  he  offered  no  words  of 
sympathy,  for  the  reason  that  he  held  little  faith 
in  sentiment.  It  was  the  time  for  action,  not 
words. 

"We  go  where  she  was— where  you  left  her— can 
you  lead  the  way  ?  " 

"I  came  from  there  but  a  short  time  ago/' 
replied  Jo;  "lean  take  you  to  the  exact  spot," 

"Take  us." 

"Yes,  lead  the  way,"  added  Ned  Clinton;  "it  is 
upon  Jack,  under  Heaven,  that  we  must  now 
rely." 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

The  lad  wheeled  on  his  heel  as  the  words  were 
spoken,  and  started  off  like  one  who  knew  the 
ralne  of  time.  Fast  as  he  strode,  the  Mohawk 
mstantly  dropped  into  a  gait  that  compelled  him 
to  increase  it. 

"Was  it  by  river  ?  "  he  asked,  noticing  the  course 
taken. 

"It  was." 

"That  bad,"  was  the  significant  comment. 
"Iroquois  come  there— maybe  find  her." 

Hie  distance  was  not  great  to  the  stream,  and 
k  was  soon  reached,  though  at  a  point  below 
tfie  hiding-place  of  her  for  whom  they  were 
seeking. 

"Ix>ok  out — Injuns  maybe  here!"  admonished 
the  Mohawk,  slackening  his  speed  when  the  river 
was  placed  on  their  right. 

A  few  minutes  after  they  halted  at  the  very  spot 
where  the  brother  and  sister  had  parted  some 
two  or  three  hours  before. 

"Here  is  where  I  left  her,"  said  Jo,  "and  when  I 
came  back  to  join  her  she  was  nowhere  to  be  seen, 
and  all  traces  of  her  were  lost. 

Lena-Wingo  made  no  answer  to  this,  for  the 
point  was  now  reached  where  he  was  to  see  what 
he  could  do  for  the  lost  one.  He  looked  keenly 


THB    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  228 

around,  and  then,  by  several  questions,  learned 
the  manner  in  which  the  girl  was  expected  to 
spend  the  time  during  the  absence  of  her  brother. 
This  was  all,  and  he  began  a  minute  examination 
of  the  ground  where  it  was  certain  she  had  trod. 

To  one  of  his  vision  and  experience,  it  was  no 
difficult  matter  to  separate  the  footprints  made 
by  the  delicate  tread  of  Rosa  from  those  of  the 
other  sex.  His  companions  were  watching  his 
movements  with  the  closest  attention,  and  they 
saw  him  glide  back  and  forth,  with  his  head  bent 
over,  thinking  of  and  seeing  nothing  but  the 
almost  invisible  signs  upon  the  leaves  before  him. 
His  friends  did  not  ask  him  a  question,  though 
many  of  his  actions  were  not  understood,  for 
they  knew  that  they  would  receive  no  notice 
while  he  was  thus  occupied.  Accordingly,  Jo  and 
Ned  sat  down  on  the  fallen  tree,  gloomy  and 
dispirited,  while  they  observed  his  course. 

"Do  you  think  there  is  any  hope  of  his  doing 
anything?"  asked  Jo,  when  the  singular  actions 
of  the  redskin  had  continued  some  time. 

"I  trust  so,"  was  the  answer,  uttered  in  a  voice 
which  showed  the  foundation  therefor  was  very 
slight.  "You  know  that  if  there  is  anyway  of 
finding  her  again,  Jack  is  the  one  to  do  it." 


224  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

"Yes,  but  if  the  thing  can't  be  done,  that'i  all 
there  is  about  it." 

"We're  figuring  all  the  while  on  the  supposition 
that  she  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Butler,  or 
some  of  the  Indians,  and  yet  we  may  be  mistaken. 
Perhaps  she  concluded  the  spot  was  becoming 
too  dangerous  for  her,  and  withdrew  while  there 
was  time,  and  is  at  no  great  distance  from  here." 

"  If  that  were  so,  it  seems  she  ought  to  have  been 
back  long  ago,  for  there  are  no  Indians  here,  nor 
have  there  been  for  a  long  time  past.  She  knew 
that  I  would  return  to  this  spot  to  look  for  her, 
and  she  knew,  too,  how  unlikely  it  was  that  I 
could  follow  her  anywhere  else." 

There  was  reason  in  this  theory,  and  Ned  felt  it 
'was  more  probable  than  any  other.  Still,  the 
fact  that  the  Mohawk  had  gone  to  work  with  so 
much  vigor  and  spirit  was  not  without  its  effect 
upon  his  companions,  who  had  pinned  great  faith 
to  him  for  a  long  time. 

"I  feel  very  sorry  for  your  parents,"  said  Ned,  a 
sort  of  instinct  teaching  him  to  parry  the  possible 
supposition  that  he  was  more  stricken  over  the 
absence  of  the  maiden  than  he  ought  to  be. 
"Like  everybody  else,  they  have  had  no  doubt 
that  if  Jack  started  for  the  place  across  the  river 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  225 

he  was  sure  to  reach  there,  and  the  disappoint- 
ment will  be  all  the  greater." 

"I  have  thought  once  or  twice  that  it  might  be 
Rosa  has  gone  off  so  far  that,  when  she  tried  to 
return,  she  went  astray,  and  that  while  she  is 
doing  all  she  can  to  get  back  to  the  place  where 
she  knew  I  was  waiting  for  her,  yet  she  could  not 
do  so." 

"It's  possible,  you  know,  Jo,  that  it  is  all  well 
with  her,  in  spite  of  the  probabilities  against  it. 
While  there's  life  there's  hope,  and,  though  I 
couldn't  see  the  least  light  a  while  ago,  I  now 
begin  to  feel  more  hope  than  before." 

"I  wish  I  could,"  was  the  doleful  reply  of  the 
brother,  who  was  in  as  despairing  a  state  of  mind 
as  can  be  conceived. 

"We  have  several  hours  yet  before  night,  and 
during  that  time  there's  no  telling  what  may  hap- 
pen. Hello!  Jack  has  made  a  discovery." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

A  DISCOVERY. 

THE  cause  of  this  exclamation  on  the  part  of  Jo 
Minturnwas  a  very  simple  movement  of  Red  Jack, 
the  Mohawk.  During  the  few  minutes  that  the 
scout  was  engaged  in  the  search,  he  was  bent  in  a 
stooping  position,  moving  slowly  from  point  to 
point,  peer  ing  at  the  signs  on  the  ground,  too  faint 
to  be  distinguished  by  other  eyes.  He  now 
straightened  up  and  uttered  the  single  exclama- 
tion: 

"Woofh!" 

When  he  did  so  he  was  close  to  the  river  shore, 
and  he  turned  his  face  around  toward  the  young 
men,  as  if  inviting  them  to  join  him — an  invita- 
tion which  they  instantly  accepted. 

"See  there,"  he  added,  pointing  to  the  ground 
before  them,  where  there  was  a  place  compara- 
tively free  from  leaves.  "Look  at  him." 

It  was  several  seconds  before  the  youths  under- 
stood to  what  he  referred.  But  by  bending  almost 
to  the  earth,  both  saw  the  small,  graceful  outline 

226 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

of  a  lady's  shoe,  such  as  Cinderella  might  have 
made,  had  she  passed  that  way. 

"Rosa's  footprints!"  exclaimed  her  brother; 
"but  what  good  is  that  to  us?  What  are  we  to 
gain  by  it?" 

"It  shows  that  she  went  toward  the  river," 
answered  Ned,  taking  his  cue  from  the  Mohawk, 
who  was  following  the  faint  trail  in  that  direc- 
tion. "It  gives  the  very  information  we  want." 

Lena-Wingo  had  worked  hard  at  the  clue,  and 
was  a  little  surprised  to  learn  that  it  led  in  the 
direction  of  the  stream,  for  he  had  another  theory 
in  his  mind.  Before  he  reached  the  water's  edge 
he  made  a  second  discovery,  which  he  did  not 
communicate  to  his  friends.  Beside  the  footprints 
of  Rosa  Minturn  there  were  those  made  by  Indian 
moccasins.  This  boded  ill  for  the  girl,  but  he  had 
partly  expected  it,  and  no  exclamation  told  the 
others  that  he  had  come  upon  anything  unusual. 

The  different  tracks  were  so  mingled  together 
that  it  was  impossible  to  tell  whether  those  of 
Rosa  were  made  at  the  same  time  or  before  those 
of  the  redmen.  He  was  inclined  to  believe  the 
girl,  at  that  time,  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of 
the  Iroquois,  though  it  was  by  no  means  impossi- 
ble that  they  were  a  half  hour  behind  her.  H« 


228  THE   RIVER   FUGITTVBS. 

carefully  tracked  the  footprints  until  they  were 
ended  by  the  river  itself,  where,  of  course,  they  ter- 
minated by  entering  a  boat.  Had  the  warriors 
and  their  captive  stepped  into  the  same  canoe? 

This  was  the  great  question,  and  Lena-Wingo 
felt  himself  able  to  answer  it,  after  a  careful  exam- 
ination* The  problem  was  a  simple  one,  and  the 
conditions  were  these :  The  footprints  of  the  girl 
disappeared,  and  a  search  for  some  distance  up 
and  down  stream  failed  to  discover  them  again. 
The  trail  of  the  Iroquois  showed  there  were  three 
of  them,  stepping  in  the  tracks  of  the  maiden,  and 
the  Mohawk  had  searched  but  a  few  minutes 
when  they  came  to  view  again.  This  settled  that 
point. 

When  Rosa  Minturn  left  the  shore  in  a  canoe, 
she  was  alone — that  was  as  certain  as  that  the 
sun  was  shining.  This  news  was  good  enough  for 
the  Mohawk  to  turn  about  and  explain  to  his  com- 
panions. The  latter  could  not  but  be  encouraged 
by  the  certainty  that  Rosa  had  left  the  spot  in  a 
boat,  guided  by  her  own  hand,  and  not  as  a  pris- 
oner. But  to  Ned  and  Jo  the  cause  of  her  taking 
such  a  course  was  as  great  a  mystery  as  ever. 

"It  may  be  that  she  has  crossed  the  river/'  sng- 


THB    RIYBR    FUGITIVES.  229 

gested  young  Clinton,  as  His  eye  ranged  along  the 
opposite  snore. 

The  possibility  had  suggested  itself  to  Lena- 
Wingo,  and  caused  him  to  search  the  wooded 
bank  in  quest  of  some  signal  from  the  girl,  who,  if 
there,  ought  to  be  looking  out  for  the  appearance 
of  her  friends  on  the  other  side.  But  the  south- 
eastern shore  was  apparently  as  deserted  as  if 
never  trodden  by  the  foot  of  man.  This  failure  to 
see  anything  of  the  fair  fugitive  led  Lena- Wingo 
to  believe  she  had  not  crossed  the  Susquehanna, 
without  taking  into  account  the  extreme  improb- 
ability of  her  attempting  such  a  course  in  broad 
daylight,  and  when  she  must  know  that  it  was  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  her  friends. 

The  three  stood  for  several  minutes  in  consulta- 
tion, or,  more  properly,  the  youths  respectfully 
waited  while  their  older  companion  deliberated 
on  the  next  step  he  ought  to  take.  The  lovely 
summer  afternoon  was  wearing  away,  and  in  a 
few  more  hours  night  would  again  descend  upon 
the  valley.  Within  the  short  period  that  still 
remained  of  daylight,  they  felt  that  whatever  was 
done  for  Rosa  Minturn  must  be  done  quickly.  If 
darkness  should  wrap  the  earth  in  its  mantle,  and 


230  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVE*. 

she  still  remain  lost  to  them,  the  chances  would  be 
almost  entirely  against  her  recovery. 

It  being  quite  well  settled  that  Rosa  had  not 
crossed  the  Susquehanna,  it  followed  that  the 
course  to  pursue  was  either  up  or  down  the  bank 
on  which  they  were  standing. 

There  was  no  data  to  guide  them,  and  the 
Mohawk  could  only  proceed  on  general  principles. 
It  seemed  to  him  the  girl  would  conclude  that 
there  was  less  danger  in  going  up  than  down  the 
stream,  as  the  former  course  would  lead  her  fur- 
ther from  Forty  Fort,  the  starting  point  of  her 
pursuers,  while  the  latter  would  take  her  back 
over  the  same  ground  they  had  traversed  during 
the  forenoon.  This  course  of  reasoning  decided 
the  red  scout  to  make  his  first  search  up  the  river 
shore;  but  to  economize  time  he  determined  to 
send  the  two  young  men  to  hunt  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

"Walk  slow,"  said  he,  in  making  known  his 
wishes;  "make  no  noise,  watch  for  Iroquois,  and 
watch  for  canoe." 

"Suppose  we  catch  sight  of  it,  Jack,  what 
then?"  asked  Ned  Clinton. 

"Come  look  for  Lena-Wingo— -he  tell  what  do.H 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVE*.  3KHL 

With  this  understanding  the  parties  separated. 
The  Mohawk,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  more 
expeditious  in  what  he  did  than  were  his  friends. 
As  he  went  up  the  river  shore,  he  proceeded  very 
nearly  as  rapidly  as  when  making  his  way 
through  the  wilderness  at  his  ordinary  gait.  He 
could  do  this  and  guard  against  running  into 
danger  as  well  as  if  his  walk  was  only  half  as 
fast. 

He  believed  that  if  Rosa  had  taken  this  coarse, 
she  would  not  have  proceeded  more  than  a  couple 
of  hundred  yards  before  coming  into  land  again. 
But,  to  leave  no  room  for  mistake  on  his  part,  he 
never  paused  until  he  had  traveled  fully  twice  that 
distance,  at  the  end  of  which  he  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that,  as  he  had  discovered  nothing  at  all, 
she  must  have  taken  the  other  course. 

While  he  was  thus  employed,  Jo  Mint  urn  and 
Ned  Clinton  were  doing  what  they  could  to 
unravel  the  mystery  of  Rosa's  whereabouts. 
Proceeding  at  a  more  tardy  rate,  they  had  not 
gone  half  as  far  as  Lena-Wingo,  when  he  turned 
to  retrace  his  steps.  But  the  result  was  the  dis- 
covery that  they  had  taken  the  right  route.  It 
was  something  like  half  the  distance  we  have 


232  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

spoken  of,  that  they  learned  an  important  fact. 
Ned  -was  slightly  in  advance  of  his  companion, 
walking  with  the  utmost  caution,  neither  of  the 
two  having  spoken  a  word,  when  he  paused. 

"What's  up?  "  asked  Jo,  in  a  whisper. 

Ned  answered  him  by  stealthily  parting  the 
bushes  immediately  in  front  with  one  hand,  while 
he  pointed  down  stream  with  the  other,  still 
silent,  as  if  fearful  that  a  whisper  might  betray 
them.  There  it  was,  no  more  than  fifty  feet  away. 
Drawn  up  against  the  shore  was  a  small  canoe, 
its  nose  resting  against  the  bank,  just  far  enough 
to  keep  it  from  being  carried  away  by  the  current. 
The  young  scouts  stood  several  minutes  contem- 
plating it,  without  stirring  or  speaking.  Then 
Ned  said : 

"That's  the  boat  we  are  looking  for,  and  what 
shall  we  do?" 

"Let's  examine  it." 

"I  think  it  will  be  safer  to  wait  for  Jack." 

"He  may  not  be  here  for  some  time — " 

"'Sh!    There  he  is  now." 

Just  then  the  undergrowth  separated  behind 
them,  and  the  Indian  joined  them.  He  saw  what 
the  matter  was  before  they  spoke. 


THE    EIVER    FUGITIVES.  283 

"Stay  here,"  he  whispered.     "I  will  look." 
"What  do  you  think  of  it?  "  asked  Ned. 
"There  is  some  one  in  it,"  was  the  answer  of 
the  Mohawk,  as  he  moved  cautiously  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  canoe. 


CHAPTER  XXXL 

A  TEST  OF  THE  NERVES. 

BY  what  means  the  Mohawk  decided  that  the 
canoe  resting  so  quietly  against  the  bank  con- 
tained some  person,  was  more  than  Ned  Clinton 
and  Jo  Minturn  could  tell,  until  he  stopped  a 
moment  to  explain. 

"Boat  sink  low  in  water — too  low  itself— some 
one  sink  it!" 

This,  then,  was  the  simple  manner  by  which  he 
judged.  The  vessel  was  lower  than  it  would  have 
been  were  there  not  something  more  than  its  own 
weight  to  cause  the  depression. 

"Stay  here,"  added  the  Mohawk.  "Me  go 
sec,** 

The  youths  remained  in  a  stationary  position, 
wfole  the  veteran  moved  down  the  shore  in 
the  direction  of  the  canoe,  his  friends  watch- 
ing his  actions  with  a  painful  intensity  of 
interest.  They  saw  him  advance  step  by  step, 
never  once  removing  his  eyes  from  the  boat,  in 
which  he  was  sure  either  a  friend  or  enemy  was 

234 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES.  386 

lying.  When  he  reached  the  point  within  a  couple 
of  rods,  he  paused,  and  stood  for  a  full  minute  m 
a  crouching  posture,  scrutinizing  the  canoe  as 
though  he  had  discovered  the  identity  of  its 
occupant.  Then,  instead  of  keeping  on  down  iile 
shore,  he  stepped  into  the  water,  wading  out 
until  it  reached  to  his  knees,  when  he  resumed 
his  march  upon  the  craft. 

He  did  not  reach  it— that  is,  close  enough  to 
touch  the  gunwale  with  his  hand,  but  the  specta- 
tors were  sure  that  he  went  nigh  enough  to  see 
who  was  within.  And  then,  to  the  unbounded 
amazement  of  the  two  lads,  he  began  retreating, 
walking  backward,  till  he  made  the  point  where 
he  entered  the  river,  when  he  stepped  out  and 
rapidly  rejoined  them.  They  looked  in  his  face, 
hoping  to  read  some  explanation  of  his  singular 
course,  but  they  might  as  well  have  studied  the 
countenance  of  a  bronze  image. 

"Is  there  any  one  in  the  canoe?"  asked  Ned, 
resolved  that  the  Mohawk  should  explain  what  he 
meant  by  his  actions. 

"Yes — some  one  there." 

"Who  is  he?" 
Lena-Wingo  turned  and  looked  directly  in  the 


236  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

face  of  the  speaker  without  uttering  a  word  hi 
reply,  for  several  seconds.    Then  he  said : 

"You  young  scout — brave  man?  " 

"Well,  I  don't  know  about  that,"  was  the 
rather  confused  reply  of  the  blushing  Ned. 

"Yes,  you  brave  man—go  kill  him ! " 

He  accompanied  these  startling  words  by 
pointing  toward  the  bqat,  so  there  could  be  no 
mistake  as  to  his  meaning.  Having  discovered 
the  occupant  of  the  canoe  asleep  and  unconscious, 
he  left  him  there,  when  he  had  him  at  his  mercy, 
and  took  the  trouble  to  come  back  and  give  the 
lad  the  task  of  putting  him  out  of  the  way.  A 
nice  duty,  indeed ! 

But  Ned  resolved  that  he  would  not  back  out, 
repulsive  as  it  was. 

War  is  made  up  of  cruelty,  and,  in  fighting  these 
redmen  and  Tories,  it  was  a  weak  sentimentality 
that  showed  them  mercy,  after  what  they  had 
done  to  the  settlers.  Such  was  the  argument  with 
which  Ned  strove  to  convince  himself  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  steal  up  to  the  sleeping  warrior  and 
bury  his  knife  in  his  body !  He  did  not  stop  to 
reflect  that  the  Mohawk  was  noted  for  displaying 
mercy  in  the  same  direction ;  but,  having  already 
received  more  than  one  compliment  from  him,  he 


THB    RIVER    FUGITIVBS.  237 

could  not  afford  to  forfeit  his  good  opinion  now 
by  any  exhibition  of  timidity  when  asked  to  per- 
form so  simple  a  task  as  that  of  putting  a  redskin 
to  his  eternal  sleep. 

"I'll  do  it,  Jack,"  he  said,  straightening  up,  with 
the  resolution  written  on  every  line  of  his  counte- 
nance ;  "I'll  do  it  for  you." 

The  Mohawk  nodded  his  head  in  away  to  show 
that  he  was  pleased  with  the  grit  displayed  by  the 
youth,  and  he  muttered : 

"Brave  boy— kill  him— do  it  well." 

"Shall  I  shoot  him,  or  use  the  knife?  " 

4 '  No  shoot— Iroquois  will  hear— use  knife— won't 
hear." 

"If  that  is  to  be  the  way  to  manage  the  thing, I 
may  as  well  leave  my  gun  behind,  as  it  will  only 
be  in  the  way." 

' '  Yes ;  leave  gun — take  knife. " 

The  reason  for  this  was  probably  because  the 
gun  would  be  an  encumbrance,  when  there  was  no 
expectation  of  using  it.  If  he  carried  nothing  but 
the  knife,  he  would  not  be  tempted  to  use  any 
other  weapon,  and  it  meant  the  most  serious  kind 
of  work. 

"I  wouldn't  do  it,"  whispered  Jo,  noticing  that 
his  friend  was  on  the  point  of  starting. 


THE    RIYER    FUGITIVES. 

"Of  course  I  will,"  replied  Ned,  in  the  same 
guarded  voice.  "He  would  n't  ask  me  unless  he 
had  good  reason  for  it." 

At  this  juncture,  when  the  young  scout  was 
about  to  set  out,  he  took  the  hunting-knife  in  his 
grasp,  but  the  Mohawk  interfered. 

"Don't  do  that,"  he  said,  "put  in  waist— get  it 
when  want  it." 

Ned  obeyed  him  without  hesitation,  shoving  it 
down  in  the  top  of  his  trousers,  with  the  handle 
prelecting  upward,  so  that  it  could  be  withdrawn 
at  any  instant  desired.  All  being  ready,  the  young 
scout  made  a  start,  unaware  that  at  the  same 
second  the  Mohawk  played  a  rather  curious  trick 
upon  him.  With  a  quick,  dexterous  movement, 
Lena-Wingo  drew  out  the  knife  again,  doing  it  so 
neatly,  indeed,  that  Jo  failed  to  observe  it.  With 
the  same  dexterity  he  concealed  it  about  his  per- 
son, where  it  could  not  attract  the  attention  of 
any  one. 

Thus  it  was  that  Ned  Clinton  actually  set  out 
to  ** finish"  an  Indian  warrior,  without  any 
weapon  with  which  to  do  it.  Ned  had  the  advan- 
tage of  the  example  of  the  Mohawk  scout  to  guide 
him  in  his  approach  to  the  canoe  containing  the 
sleeping  redskin,  and  he  did  his  best  to  imitate 


THE   RIYER   FUGITIVES.  239 

his  every  movement.  He  made  his  way  with  the 
same  consummate  caution  as  did  he,  until  he 
reached  the  spot  where  the  savage  went  into  the 
water,  when  he  also  stepped  into  the  current,  the 
depth  of  which  he  knew  from  having  noticed  it 
when  waded  by  his  friend. 

It  was  necessary,  after  having  started,  that  he 
should  give  his  entire  attention  to  the  boat  which 
he  was  approaching.  There  was  the  danger  that 
the  sleeping  redskin  might  awake,  in  which  case 
the  situation  of  the  young  scout  would  not  be  the 
most  desirable  in  the  world;  for,  if  the  lad  had 
really  possessed  his  knife,  as  he  supposed  he  did,  it 
could  have  served  him  no  purpose  until  he  got 
within  close  range,  while  the  redskin  would  have 
the  advantage  of  a  shot  from  his  rifle.  But  this 
contingency  caused  Ned  little  fear,  for  he  knew 
that  his  two  friends  behind  him  were  watching 
every  step  he  took,  and  if  such  a  thing  should  hap- 
pen, the  Mohawk  would  save  him. 

The  closer  the  lad  drew  to  the  canoe,  the  greater 
became  his  caution,  until  his  progress  was  very 
slow,  and  it  seemed  to  Jo  more  than  once  that  he 
had  actually  paused  and  was  standing  still.  But 
the  young  scout  was  advancing  all  the  time,  and 


240  THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

he  was  now  within  a  few  steps  of  the  boat.  His 
heart  beat  so  violently  that  he  was  afraid  he 
would  be  betrayed  by  that  means  alone,  for  he 
knew  that  no  person  sleeps  more  lightly  than  the 
Indian.  He  wondered  again  and  again  why  it 
was  this  warrior  lay  so  still,  when  he  must  have 
known,  before  lying  down,  that  he  placed  himself 
in  great  peril.  However,  the  courage  of  the  lad 
never  faltered.  The  Mohawk  had  given  him  the 
task  to  do,  and  if  it  were  within  the  range  of 
human  possibility,  he  meant  it  should  be  done. 

It  was  a  severe  test  of  one's  nerves  thtts  to 
steal  up  to  a  deadly  foe,  with  the  intention  that 
actuated  him.  As  the  boy  recalled  his  experience 
of  the  last  few  days,  he  was  sure  there  was  noth- 
ing in  it  at  all  to  equal  this — not  even  when  he 
was  making  his  way  through  the  Susquehanna, 
with  the  enemies  in  the  front  and  rear.  But  his 
nerves,  tense  as  they  were,  became  as  steel,  when 
at  last  he  reached  a  point  from  which  he  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  bright  garments  of  the  occupant. 

The  young  scout  concluded  that  this  was  the 
time  for  him  to  draw  his  knife,  so  as  to  have  it 
ready  to  use  the  next  moment.  Accordingly  he 
reached  his  hand  down,  when  the  cold  perspira- 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  241 

tion  sprang  out  all  over  his  body,  for  it  was  gone. 
He  paused  as  if  smitten  by  a  bullet  from  the  foe 
•whom  he  was  approaching,  for  here  he  was,  and 
powerless  to  help  himsell 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THB  OCCUPANT  OP  THE  CANOB. 

CLINTON  stood  transfixed.  The  disappointment 
was  so  unexpected,  so  unprepared  for,  that  he 
was  as  powerless  as  a  child  in  the  presence  of 
some  overwhelming  danger.  Had  the  Indian 
arisen  at  that  moment,  he  would  have  found  an 
easy  victim  in  the  youth,  who  had  set  out  with 
such  high  courage.  Ned  never  dreamed  that  the 
Mohawk  had  anything  to  do  with  the  disap- 
pearance of  his  weapon,  nor  would  he  have 
believed  it,  unless  he  had  himself  witnessed  the 
purloining. 

A  few  seconds  were  sufficient  to  recover  his 
self-possession,  and,  supposing  that  he  had 
dropped  the  knife  while  stealing  along  with  such 
care,  he  turned  about  to  go  back  and  secure 
another.  As  he  did  so,  he  saw  Jo  and  Lena- 
Wingo  looking  at  him,  and  it  seemed  their  faces 
were  not  as  serious  as  they  ought  to  be  at  such 
a  time.  The  Indian  motioned  for  him  to  go 
ahead— a  piece  of  advice  which  the  lad  could 

242 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  243 

not  appreciate,  and  lie  hesitated  to  obey  it.  Btrt 
Jo,  at  this  juncture,  joined  him  in  signaling  the 
same  thing,  and,  fearful  that  their  purpose 
might  not  be  understood,  he  actually  said,  in  a 
Toice  which  was  distinctly  heard  by  the  aston- 
ished Ned: 

"Take  a  look  at  him!    Take  a  look  at  him!" 

"That's  queer  business,"  growled  young 
Clinton.  "They  must  think  that  warrior  is 
sleeping  like  a  log,  to  keep  it  up  with  all  this 
racket  about  him/' 

However,  he  concluded  to  gratify  their  whim, 
and  he  moved  carefully  back  until  he  was  closer 
than  before— so  nigh,  indeed,  that  he  was  able 
to  see  the  occupant  of  the  canoe.  Occupant  it 
certainly  had,  in  the  person  of  the  dearest  object 
on  earth— Miss  Rosa  Minturn. 

She  was  reclining  with  her  brilliantly-colored 
shawl  gathered  about  her,  and  sleeping  as 
quietly  as  an  infant,  with  no  sign  that  any 
hostile  Indian  knew  anything  of  her  where- 
abouts. One  cheek  rested  on  her  arm,  while  tbe 
other  was  turned  to  the  mild  summer  breeze 
that  was  stealing  over  the  Susquehanna.  With 
her  shawl  drawn  about  her  shoulders,  the  picture 


244f  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

of  sleeping  innocence  and  beauty  was  as  winning 
as  could  be. 

The  revulsion  from  his  grim  and  gloomy  state 
of  mind,  caused  by  the  discovery  that  instead  of  a 
fierce,  painted  redskin  stretched  in  the  bottom  of 
the  boat  was  the  enchanting  object  of  his  affec- 
tion, was  so  great  that  he  could  barely  prevent 
himself  from  uttering  a  cry  of  joy,  and  he  stood 
for  several  minutes  gazing  in  silent  rapture  on  the 
picture.  He  was  roused  by  hearing  the  voice  of 
his  friend  Jo : 

"I'm  afraid  you  11  catch  cold,  Ned,  if  you  stand 
all  the  afternoon  in  the  water." 

The  young  man  turned  his  head  and  saw  them 
both  laughing,  the  grin  of  the  Mohawk  especially 
being  of  tremendous  proportions.  Through  the 
strange  and  apparently  contradictory  nature  of 
Lena-Wingo  ran  a  vein  of  humor,  which  showed 
itself  at  the  most  unexpected  times,  and  no  one 
could  have  enjoyed  the  astonishment  of  Ned  more 
than  did  he  on  the  present  occasion. 

"Bring  the  boat  here,"  called  out  Jot  when  the 
thing  had  lasted  several  minutes.  "What's  the 
use  of  leaving  it  there  ?  " 

This  was  a  sensible  suggestion,  and  Ned  acted 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  245 

upon  it  at  once  by  reaching  out  his  hand,  seizing 
the  gunwale,  and  moving  up-stream  with  it. 

"Here's  your  knife,"  said  Jo,  with  a  laugh,  as 
he  handed  the  weapon  to  him.  "The  next  time 
you  start  on  such  an  expedition  as  that,  you  had 
better  take  something  of  the  kind  along." 

"That's  some  of  your  or  Lena-Wingo's  work," 
replied  Ned,  feeling  that  the  joke  was  at  his 
expense,  and  very  willing  to  bear  it,  when  the 
result  was  so  in  consonance  with  the  best  wishes 
and  prayers  of  his  heart. 

They  might  have  laughed  for  an  hour,  for  all  he 
cared,  so  long  as  the  missing  girl  was  restored  to 
them.  Reaching  the  point  where  his  friends  were 
waiting  him,  he  drew  the  canoe  well  up  the  bank, 
so  there  was  no  danger  of  its  floating  away, 
while  Jo  explained  the  little  trick  that  the 
Mohawk  played  upon  his  friend. 

"She  sleeps  soundly,"  said  the  brother,  leaning 
over,  and  gently  touching  his  lips  to  the  warm 
cheek  of  the  girl.  "Poor  sister,  she  so  required 
rest  that  she  forgot  herself,  and  went  to  sleep 
when  she  didn't  mean  to;  but  no  harm  is  done." 

It  was  deemed  best  not  to  disturb  her  for  the 
present,  as  she  was  in  need  of  the  slumber  she 
was  enjoying,  and  was  quite  certain  to  awake  in 


246  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

a  short  time.  Lena-Wingo  explained  that  he  sus- 
pected the  girl  was  asleep  in  the  canoe  the  instant 
he  saw  the  boat  lying  against  the  bank ;  for,  as  it 
was  plain  that  some  one  was  within,  nothing 
was  more  likely  than  it  was  the  one  that  had 
gone  away  with  the  boat.  There  was  the  possi- 
bility, however,  that  such  was  not  the  case, 
and  before  carrying  out  his  little  joke,  he  made 
sure  of  the  truth.  When  he  saw  that  Rosa  was 
found,  he  arranged  the  jest  for  his  own  amuse- 
ment, carrying  it  out  with  the  success  which  we 
have  already  shown  to  our  readers. 

The  friends  were  conversing  in  guarded  under- 
tones, when  there  was  a  rustle  from  the  boat,  and 
looking  in  that  direction,  Rosa  was  seen  in  a  sit- 
ting position,  looking  inquiringly  upon  them,  as  if 
she  did  not  exactly  understand  what  it  all  meant. 

"Well,  my  sister,  we  have  taken  you  prisoner, 
after  you  tried  so  hard  to  give  us  the  slip," 
remarked  Jo,  with  a  laugh. 

"It  looked  once  as  though  we  should  be  unable 
to  find  you  at  all,"  added  Ned,  extending  his  hand 
to  help  her  from  the  boat  to  the  shore.  "We  made 
a  hunt  for  you,  and  Jo  and  I  were  about  ready  to 
give  up,  when  we  caught  sight  of  the  canoe." 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  347 

Rosa  reached  out  her  hand  in  response  to  the 
proffer  of  her  young  admirer,  but  she  sprang  as 
lightly  ashore  as  a  bird — scarcely  needing  the  help 
given  her.  Not  entirely  disappointed  was  Ned,  for 
when  the  fairy  fingers  lightly  touched  his  own,  the 
thrill  that  went  through  the  system  of  the  young 
scout  was  like  that  from  the  electric  battery.  The 
crimson  flush  stole  over  his  face,  and  he  was  sure 
that  all  would  laugh  at  his  embarrassment,  but 
nobody  seemed  to  notice  it,  and  he  soon  recovered 
his  self-possession,  as  the  group  seated  themselves 
together,  on  the  leaves,  just  far  enough  with- 
drawn from  the  river  to  avoid  being  seen  by  any 
that  might  be  going  tip  or  down  stream. 

"And  this  is  what  you  call  waiting  for  me?" 
was  the  half-serious  question  of  Jo  Minturn  to  his 
sister,  when  they  were  seated. 

"I  promised  to  wait  for  you  if  I  could,  didn't 
I  ?  "  she  said,  in  reply. 

"Well,  and  what  was  there  to  hinder? " 

"Three  Iroquois — was  not  that  enough?  M 

"It  will  do,  if  there  is  nothing  better  to  ofler; 
but  I  don't  understand  how  you  could  get  away 
from  three  Indians  by  jumping  into  a  canoe  and 
paddling  such  a  short  way." 

"How  can  you,  when  I  haven't  explained? " 


248  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

"Fll  be  glad  to  learn." 

"It  was  only  a  short  time  after  you  left  that  I 
heard  signals  very  near  me  in  the  woods.  I  knew 
they  were  made  by  some  of  the  Iroquois  scouts 
that  were  prowling  in  the  neighborhood,  though 
what  they  were  after  was  more  than  I  could  tell, 
for  it  did  n't  seem  likely  they  were  hunting  for  me. 
I  didn't  doubt,  however,  that  they  would  stop  to 
pick  me  up  if  they  got  the  chance,  so  I  kept  watch 
on  them.  In  a  little  while  I  saw  one  of  them  to 
the  right,  and,  as  he  was  moving  toward  me,  I 
thought  it  time  to  see  whether  the  way  was  open 
on  the  left  yonder;  but  I  hadn't  gone  far,  when  I 
found  there  was  an  Indian  stealing  from  that 
direction,  while  there  was  the  best  reason  to  sus- 
pect a  third  one  was  almost  as  near  as  they. 
Well,  I  began  to  think  I  was  in  a  bad  situation, 
and  there  wasn't  much  prospect  of  getting  out  by 
pushing  ahead,  so  I  moved  back  toward  the  Sus- 
quehanna,  uncertain  what  I  would  do  when  I  got 
there,  but  well  satisfied  that  it  was  the  only  way 
open.  The  first  thing  that  caught  my  eye  on 
reaching  the  river  was  the  canoe  lying  against  the 
bank,  as  it  must  have  been  all  the  time  without 
our  suspecting  it.9' 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THB  CONSULTATION. 

"THAT  canoe,"  continued  Rosa,  "must  have 
been  sent  by  Heaven  itself.  I  felt  it  the  instant 
I  caught  sight  of  it.  I  knew  that  if  I  staid  here 
any  longer  the  Iroquois  would  catch  me;  so  I 
stepped  into  the  boat,  and  shoved  it  clear  of  the 
shore.  There  was  no  paddle,  and  I  hadn't  time 
to  look  around  to  see  where  it  had  been  hid.  That 
stopped  me  from  going  out  in  the  river,  too, 
though  I  do  n't  know  as  I  would  have  done  that 
if  the  oar  was  there — that  is,  unless  they  pursued 
me,  and  there  was  no  other  way  of  escaping.  I 
dropped  down  along  the  shore,  keeping  as  close 
as  I  could,  and  allowing  the  canoe  to  drift  with 
the  current,  which  you  know  runs  very  slow  so 
close  in.  I  kept  it  up  awhile,  stopping  now  and 
then  to  listen ;  but  I  heard  nothing,  and  when  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  had  gone  far  enough,  I  drew 
it  to  the  bank,  and  sat  down  to  listen  and  watch 
for  the  redmen.  Well,  I  must  have  fallen  asleep, 
for  I  don't  remember  anything  until  I  woke  up  a 

249 


360  THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES. 

few  minutes  ago.  I  know  that  I  was  very  sleepy, 
for  I  did  n't  get  one  minute's  slumber  last  night, 
and  it's  hard  to  do  nothing  but  sit  still  and  keep 


awake  at  such  a  time. 


" 


No  one  present  could  criticise  the  course  of  the 
fair  fugitive,  whose  action  had,  doubtless,  saved 
her  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois 
when  they  were  so  close  upon  her.  There  was  so 
much  general  joy  over  the  reunion  that  there  was 
no  room  for  fault-finding  with  each  other,  espe- 
cially when  there  was  so  little  cause  for  it. 

The  long  summer  afternoon  of  the  day  which, 
like  the  preceding,  was  to  live  in  their  memories 
as  among  the  most  eventful  of  all  their  lives,  was 
far  advanced,  and  night  would  soon  be  upon 
them.  Before  holding  a  full  consultation  as  to 
future  plans  and  course  of  action,  the  Mohawk 
made  a  reconnoissance  of  their  own  position,  for 
the  purpose  of  learning  whether  there  was  imme- 
diate danger  of  any  of  the  Iroquois  breaking  in 
upon  them.  He  returned  in  less  than  half  an  hour, 
declaring  that  nothing  of  the  kind  was  to  be 
apprehended,  and  the  four  sat  down  to  a  con- 
versation which  was  a  freer  one  than  they  had 
enjoyed  since  starting  upon  their  memorable 
journey. 


THE    RIVER    FUGITIVES.  291 

Precisely  what  they  were  to  do  was  left*  as 
may  be  supposed,  to  the  Mohawk,  under  whose 
guidance  they  all  placed  themselves.  It  did  not 
take  him  long  to  tell  what  he  had  decided  upon. 
His  purpose  was  to  wait  where  they  were,  or, 
perhaps,  near  there,  till  night  was  fully  upon 
them,  and  then  to  cross  the  river  to  the  other 
shore  and  make  their  way  to  Wilkesbarre. 

It  was  stated  at  the  opening  of  our  story  that, 
during  the  massacre  which  succeeded  the  battle  of 
Wyoming,  a  panic  seized  the  garrison  and  settlers 
at  Wilkesbarre.  Believing  the  victorious  Indians 
and  Tories  were  about  to  cross  over  and  mas- 
sacre them  all,  a  stampede  took  place  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Stroudsburg  and  other  points,  many  of 
the  fugitives  starting  in  such  haste  that  a  great 
number  perished  by  the  way — the  wilderness 
where  the  fatality  was  so  frightful,  being  known 
to  this  day  as  the  "  Shades  of  Death."  This  panic 
was  unwarranted.  Those  who  remained  were 
safe  from  molestation,  since  Colonel  Butler  and 
his  allies  were  too  nearly  defeated  as  it  was,  at 
Wyoming,  to  incur  any  risk  of  having  the  tables 
turned  upon  him. 

Lena-Wingo  understood  the  situation,  and  was 
well  satisfied  that  they  had  only  to  make  the 


252  THE    RIVER   FUGITIVES. 

point  named  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  their 
enemies.  His  plan,  therefore,  was  the  most  simple 
that  could  be  devised,  and  it  needed  scarcely  any 
explanation  from  him,  when  he  had  once  inti- 
mated it  to  his  friends.  As  he  had  done  once 
before  that  day,  he  declared  that  it  was  important 
that  they  should  find  some  means  of  providing 
themselves  with  food  before  undertaking  to 
finish  the  journey,  speaking  of  course  in  this  mat- 
ter more  for  his  companions  than  for  himself. 

It  was  useless  to  protest  against  such  a  course, 
when  the  Mohawk  had  made  up  his  mind  to  it. 
No  doubt  he  believed  that  Rosa  felt  the  need  of 
food,  and  he  was  determined  she  should  have  it ; 
and  it  may  be  supposed  that  after  his  experience 
of  the  afternoon,  there  was  no  likelihood  of  his 
repeating  the  blunder  then  made. 

A  stillness  like  that  of  the  great  solitude  itself 
fell  upon  them  as  they  sat  in  the  dense  under- 
growth of  the  woods,  talking  in  low  tones  of  their 
future  plans,  and  speculating  as  to  what  their 
enemies  were  doing  at  that  time.  The  Mohawk 
took  no  part  in  the  words  that  passed  between 
them.  He  was  inclined  to  reticence  at  all  times, 
and  rarely  spoke  except  when  there  was  necessity 
therefor,  or  when  he  had  some  of  his  little  schemes 


THE   RIVER   FUGITIVES.  253 

for  his  own  amusement  on  Hand.  Leaving  the 
others  to  do  the  chatting,  he  busied  himself  in 
searching  for  the  paddle  reported  missing  by  Rosa 
Minturn.  As  may  be  imagined,  it  did  not  take 
him  long  to  find  where  it  had  been  placed  beneath 
some  dry  leaves. 

"Now,  if  that  boat  was  left  here  by  a  redskin, 
as  must  have  been  the  case,'*  said  Ned  Clinton, 
"why,  is  it  not  likely  that  the  owner  will  be  back 
before  long  to  take  charge  of  it  again  ?  " 

"I  have  thought  of  the  same  thing  more  than 
once,"  replied  Jo,  "but  I  concluded  that  if  Jack 
was  satisfied  we  ought  to  be." 

The  Mohawk  was  absent  at  that  moment  and 
Rosa  added: 

"Lena-Wingo  is  likely  to  make  mistakes  the 
same  as  any  one  else,  for  all  he  is  the  smartest 
man  I  ever  saw  in  the  woods.  If  he  hadn't 
insisted  on  going  in  that  deserted  house,  and  sit- 
ting down  to  eat,  we  wouldn't  have  got  into  the 
trouble  we  did." 

"But  he  managed  to  get  out  of  it  again,"  said 
Ned  Clinton. 

"But  he  would  have  had  hard  work,  if  it 
hadn't  been  for  you,"  remarked  Jo  Minturn. 


254  THE    RIVER    FUGITIYE*. 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  Ned  was  equally 
prompt  to  say.  "I  was  able  to  do  something,  it 
is  true,  to  hurry  up  matters,  but  you  know  there 
isn't  any  scrape  that  the  Mohawk  can't  manage 
to  pull  out  of  in  some  way  or  other,  and,  if  I 
hadn't  come  along  just  as  I  did,  he  would  have 
outwitted  the  Iroquois  in  one  way  or  another." 

"Well,"  replied  Jo,  impatiently,  "suppose  we 
say  that  you  never  did  anything  at  all;  that,  I 
guess,  will  suit  you  better,  for  I  do  n't  undertake 
to  tell  anything  about  you  that  you  don't  put 
in  a  protest.  How  will  that  suit  Ned  ?  " 

"That  will  do  well  enough,"  he  answered,  with 
a  laugh.  "I  am  not  hunting  after  honor  that 
doesn't  belong  to  me." 

"And  aren't  willing  to  take  that  which  does 
belong  to  you,  either." 

"I  wonder  what  has  become  of  Jack,"  said  Ned, 
turning  his  head,  and  looking  off  in  the  gathering 
twilight;  "I  don't  like  to  have  him  gone  too 
long." 

"He  is  looking  after  our  interests,"  replied 
Rosa ;  "  I  remember  when  we  used  to  go  hunting 
and  had  to  camp  in  the  woods,  he  was  on  the  go 
all  the  time.  He  would  sit  down  a  while,  and 
when  we  were  talking,  would  jump  tip  and  be  off 


THE   RIVER    FUGITIVES.  255 

like  a  shot.  When  He  came  back,  he  tried  to  make 
me  believe  he  had  heard  some  kind  of  game  in  the 
forest,  but  I  was  sure  he  was  telling  a  fib  half  the 
time,  and  only  wanted  an  excuse  for  leaving  me 
as  he  did." 

"You  may  be  sure  he  is  within  call,"  said  Ned, 
"and,  if  anything  turns  up  demanding  his  pres- 
ence, he  will  be  back  in  a  twinkling;  but,  for  all 
that,  I  wish  he  were  here." 

"Do  you  know,"  said  Jo,  looking  at  the  couple, 
with  a  glowing  face,  "that  I  consider  our  adven- 
tures, or  at  least  our  dangers,  over?  " 

"And  why  do  you  think  that?"  inquired  his 
sister,  with  some  surprise. 

"This  is  the  first  time  all  of  us  have  been 
together.  So  long  as  we  were  separated,  some 
or  every  one  was  in  danger.  But  now  we  are 
under  the  care  of  the  smartest  Indian  in  the 
country ;  we  have  weapons  and  ammunition,  and 
he  will  soon  lead  us  to  a  place  of  safety,  where  we 
can  stay  until  all  peril  is  over." 

Ned  and  Rosa  caught  the  contagion  of  the 
youth's  buoyancy  of  spirits,  and  came  to  believe 
that  their  stirring  experiences  were  ended,  and 
that  soon  all  would  be  well  with  them  and  the 


256  THE    RIVER    FUCITIYBa. 

loved  ones  not  far  away.  They  therefore  awaited 
the  return  of  the  Mohawk  in  a  more  tranquil 
and  comfortable  state  of  mind  than  at  any  time 
since  the  invasion  of  the  Wyoming  valley  by  th« 
Tories  and  Indians. 


THE 

Famous  Standard  Juveniles 


Published  by 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 
Philadelphia 


EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

Edward  S.  Ellis,  the  popular  writer  of  boys'  books,  is  a 
native  of  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  somewhat  more  than  a  half- 
century  ago.  His  father  was  a  famous  hunter  and  rifle  shot, 
and  it  was  doubtless  his  exploits  and  those  of  his  associates, 
with  their  tales  of  adventure  which  gave  the  son  his  taste 
for  the  breezy  backwoods  and  for  depicting  the  stirring  life 
of  the  early  settlers  on  the  frontier. 

Mr.  Ellis  began  writing  at  an  early  age  and  his  work  was 
acceptable  from  the  first.  His  parents  removed  to  New 
Jersey  while  he  was  a  boy  and  he  was  graduated  from  the 
State  Normal  School  and  became  a  member  of  the  faculty 
while  still  in  his  teens.  He  was  afterward  principal  of  the 
Trenton  High  School,  a  trustee  and  then  superintendent 
of  schools.  By  that  time  his  services  as  a  writer  had  become 
so  pronounced  that  he  gave  his  entire  attention  to  liter- 
ature. He  was  an  exceptionally  successful  teacher  and 
wrote  a  number  of  text-books  for  schools,  all  of  which  met 
with  high  favor.  For  these  and  his  historical  productions, 
Princeton  College  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts. 

The  high  moral  character,  the  clean,  manly  tendencies 
and  the  admirable  literary  style  of  Mr.  Ellis'  stories  have 
made  him  as  popular  on  the  other  side. of  the  Atlantic  as  in 

this  country.     A  leading  paper  remarked  some  time  since, 

16 


that  no  mother  need  hesitate  to  place  in  the  hands  of  ber 
boy  any  book  written  by  Mr.  Ellis.  They  are  found  in 
the  leading  Sunday-school  libraries,  where,  as  may  well 
be  believed,  they  are  in  wide  demand  and  do  mtieh  good 
by  their  sound,  wholesome  lessons  which  render  them  as 
acceptable  to  parents  as  to  their  children.  Nearly  aft  of 
the  Ellis  books  published  by  The  John  C.  Winston  Company 
are  reissued  in  London,  and  many  have  been  translated 
into  other  languages.  Mr.  Ellis  is  a  writer  of  raried  accom- 
plishments, and,  in  addition  to  his  stories,  is  the  author  of 
historical  works,  of  a  number  of  pieces  of  popular  music, 
and  has  made  several  valuable  inventions.  Mr.  Effig  is  in 
the  prime  of  his  mental  and  physical  powers,  and  great  as 
have  been  the  merits  of  his  past  achievements,  there  is 
reason  to  look  for  more  brilliant  productions  from  his  pen  in 
the  near  future. 


DEERFOOT  SERIES 

3  vote.  By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

Hunters  of  the  Ozark  The  Last  War 

Camp  in  the  Mountains 

LOG  CABIN  SERIES 

3  vote.  By  EDWARD   S.  ELLIS  J*.oo 

Lost  Trail  Footprints  in  fh»  POM* 

Camp-Fire  and  Wigwam 

BOY  PIONEER  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  EDWARD   S.  ELLIS  Sfe-oo 

Bed  in  the  Block-House  Ned  on  the 

Ned  in  the  Woods 

THE  NORTHWEST  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

Two  Boys  in  Wyoming  Cowmen  and 

A  Strange  Craft  and  its  Wonderful  Voyage 

BOONE  AND  KENTON  SERIES 

3  vote.  By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $3-0° 

Shod  with  Silence  In  the  Days  of  the 

Phantom  of  the  River 

WAR  CHIEF  SERIES 

3  vote.  By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

Red  Eagle  Blazing 

Iron  Heart,  War  Chief  of  the  Iroquois 
17 


THE  NEW   DEERFOOT  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $3.00 

Dowfoot  in  the  Forest  Deerfoot  on  the  Prairie 

Deerfoot  in  the  Mountains 

TRUE  GRIT  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $3.00 

Jim  mod  Joe  Dorsey,  the  Young  Inventor 

Secret  of  Coffin  Island 

GREAT  AMERICAN  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $*.oo 

Twddy  and  Towser;  or,  Early  Days  in  California 
Up  the  Forked  River 

COLONIAL  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $9.00 

Am  American  King  The  Cromwell  of  Virginia 

The  Last  Emperor  of  the  Old  Dominion 

FOREIGN  ADVENTURE  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $3.00 

Loot  in  the  Forbidden  Land  River  and  Ju*gie 

The  Hunt  of   the  White   Elephant 

PADDLE  YOUR  OWN  CANOE  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $3.00 

rbft  Forest  Messengers  The  Mountain  Star 

Queen  of   the  Clouds 

THE  ARIZONA  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $3.00 

Off  fflfoj  Reservation  Trailing  Geronimo 

The  Round  Up 

OVERLAND  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  fcz.oo 

the  Pony  Express  Rider     Alden  Among  the  Indians 

THE  CATAMOUNT  CAMP  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $«.oo 

Captain  of  the  Camp  Catamount  Camp 

THE  FLYING  BOYS  SERIES 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS  $2.00 

he  Vfeing  Boys  in  the  Sky         The  Flying  Boys  to  the  Rescue 


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THE  JOHN  C.  WCTSTOn    COMPANY'S   POPULAR   JUVENILES 


HARRY  CASTLEMON 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  WRITE  MY  FIRST  BOOK 

WHKN  I  was  sixteen  jcars  old  I  belonged  to  a  compo- 
sition class.  It  was  our  custom  to  go  on  the  recita- 
tion seat  every  day  with  clean  slates,  and  we  were 
allowed  ten  minutes  to  write  seventy  words  on  any  subject 
the  teacher  thought  suited  to  our  capacity.  One  day  he 
gave  out  "What  a  Man  Would  See  if  He  Went  to  Green- 
land." My  heart  was  in  the  matter,  and  before  the  ten 
minutes  were  up  I  had  one  side  of  my  slate  filled.  The 
teacher  listened  to  the  reading  of  our  compositions,  and 
when  they  were  all  over  he  simply  said  :  "Some  of  you  will 
make  your  living  by  writing  one  of  these  days."  That  gave 
me  something  to  ponder  upon,  I  did  not  say  so  out  loud, 
but  I  knew  that  my  composition  was  as  good  as  the  best  of 
them.  By  the  way,  there  was  another  thing  that  came  in 
my  way  just  then.  I  was  reading  at  that  time  one  of  Mayne 
Reid's  works  which  I  had  drawn  from  the  library,  and  I 
pondered  upon  it  as  much  as  I  did  upon  what  the  teacher 
said  to  me.  In  introducing  Swartboy  to  his  readers  he  made 
use  of  this  expression  :  "No  visible  change  was  observable 
in  Swartboy 's  countenance."  Now,  it  occurred  tome  that 
if  a  man  of  his  education  could  make  such  a  blunder  as  that 
and  still  write  a  book,  I  ought  to  be  able  to  do  it,  too.  I 
went  home  that  very  day  and  began  a  story,  "The  Old 
Guide's  Narrative,"  which  was  sent  to  the  New  York 
Weekly,  and  came  back,  respectfully  declined.  It  was  writ- 
ten on  both  sides  of  the  sheets  but  I  didn't  know  that  this 
was  against  the  rules,  Nothing  abashed,  I  began  another, 
and  receiving  some  instruction  from  a  friend  of  mine  who 
was  a  clerk  in  a  book  store,  I  wrote  it  on  only  one  side  of 
the  paper,  But,  mind  you,  he  didn't  know  what  I  was 


THE  JOHN  C.  WIN3TOTT   COMPANY'S   PCFTTLAR   JUVENILES 

doing.  Nobody  knew  it ;  but  one  day,  after  a  hard  Satur- 
day's work — the  other  boys  had  been  out  skating  on  the 
brick-pond — I  shyly  broached  the  subject  to  my  mother.  I 
felt  the  need  of  some  sympathy.  She  listened  in  amaze- 
ment, and  then  said:  "Why,  do  you  think  you  could  write 
a  book  like  that?"  That  settled  the  matter,  and  from  that 
day  no  one  knew  what  I  was  up  to  until  I  sent  the  first  four 
volumes  of  Gunboat  Series  to  my  father.  Was  it  work? 
Well,  yes ;  it  was  hard  work,  but  each  week  I  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  the  manuscript  grow  until  the  "Young 
Naturalist"  was  all  complete. 

— Harry  Castlemon  in  the  Writer. 


GUNBOAT   SERIES 

6  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $6.00 

Frank  the  Young  Naturalist         Frank  Before  Vicksburg 
Frank  on  a  Gunboat  Frank  on  the  Lower  Mississippi 

Frank  in  the  Woods  Frank  on  the  Prairie 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $3.00 

Frank  Among  the  Rancheros  Frank  in  the  Mountains 

Frank  at  Don  Carlos'  Rancho 

SPORTSMAN'S  CLUB  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $3.75 

The  Sportsman's  Club  in  the  Saddle         The  Sportman's  Club  Afloat 
The  Sportsman's   Club  Among  the  Trappers 

FRANK  NELSON  SERIES 

3  vob.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $3.75 

Snowed  Up  Frank  in  the  Forecastle 

The  Boy  Traders 

BOY   TRAPPER   SERIES 

3  vols:  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $3.00 

The  Buried  Treasure  The  Boy  Trapper 

The  Mail  Carrier 

ROUGHING   IT  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $3.00 

George  in  Camp  George  at  the  Fort 

George  at  the  Wheel 

21 


THE  JOHN    C.  WINSTON   COMPANY'S   POPULAR   JUVEHILBS 

ROD  AND  GUN    SERIES 

3  rob.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON  $3^00 

Don  Gordon's  Shooting  Box          The  Young  "Wild  Fowlers 

Rod  and  Gun  Club 

GO-AHEAD  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON 

Tom  ITewcombe  Go-Ahead  «o  MOM 

WAR  SERIES 

6  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON 

True  to  His  Colors  Marcy  the   Blockade-Runner 

Rodney  the  Partisan  Marcy  the  Refugee 

Rodney  the  Overseer  Sailor  Jack  the  Trader 

HOUSEBOAT   SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY   CASTLEMON 

The  Houseboat  Boys  The  Mystery  of  Lost  River  Canyon 

The  Young  Game  Warden 

AFLOAT  AND  ASHORE  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON 

Rebellion  in  Dixie  A  Sailor  in  Spite  of  Himself 

The  Ten-Ton  Cutter 

THE   PONY   EXPRESS  SERIES 

3  vols.  By  HARRY  CASTLEMON 

The  Pony  Express  Rider  The  White  Beovor 

CarU  The  Trailer 


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*Cl6Sf037 


